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We gave Notebook LM our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report

NotebookLM digs into why shops can look perfectly staffed and still fail you at the checkout or on the shop floor, then trace the problem back to how retail measures efficiency. We use the ReThink Productivity Retail Report 2026 to show how a push for 100% utilisation creates a capacity cap that burns out colleagues and leaks sales
• The £6.25bn annual opportunity hidden inside “wasted” labour time
• How the efficiency index is built and why 80% is healthier than 100%
• the capacity cap and why small disruptions collapse service
• Demand-led rotas that protect peak trading hours and use quiet periods well
• Security tagging as a labour cost that can exceed the value it protects
• Omnichannel services that add seconds which turn into queues
• Self-checkout friction and why design beats blame
• Pragmatic tech wins like electronic shelf labels that lift morale

Download your copy of the Retail Report

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Diane Wehrle CEO at Rendle Intelligence and Insights joins Simon for their monthly chat

We read the March 2026 retail and economic data against a month shaped by war and an early Easter, where strong headlines hide weaker high street reality
• March footfall rising year on year but flattered by a weak 2025 comparison
• BRC sales growth driven mainly by food as households buy ahead of Easter
• Non-food sales growth lagging inflation and remaining fragile
• High street sales down sharply with food and drink spend falling hardest
• Pay-cycle spending patterns and how Easter timing shifts monthly demand
• GfK consumer confidence sliding with personal finance views turning negative
• Inflation pressure from housing and fuel costs pushing consumers to save more
• Major purchases feeling riskier as caution rises
• Unemployment dipping while economic inactivity increases, changing the real story
• War-driven fuel prices feeding uncertainty with a possible staycation upside

Download a copy of our first ReThink Productivity Retail Report

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Sue, Simon, & James share the top-line findings from ReThink Productivity Future Retail Ready Benchmarking Report and explain how a £6.25bn opportunity could be unlocked. They walk through six golden rules to improve store performance, protect customer experience, and avoid hidden workload that quietly harms sales.
• Why retailers feel the squeeze after the ‘easy wins’ are gone
• The efficiency index and why 80% is the realistic target
• How running above 80% removes the cushion for peaks
• The productivity paradox where cost cuts can damage sales
• Managing capacity intelligently with better demand modelling
• Simplifying security so tagging does not erode profitability
• Unlocking self-checkout by reducing interventions and friction
• Designing services deliberately so complexity does not swamp teams
• Deploying technology pragmatically with training and real ROI
Download the report, have a read, get in touch with any questions

#theproductivityexperts
Register for the 2026 Productivity Forum
Find us in the Top 50 Productivity Podcasts
Connect to Simon on LinkedIn
Follow ReThink on LinkedIn