Cost of overstaffing

Compiled by Kenneth Røsseth-Sørensen, CEO, Retail Insight AS

Every extra hour on the schedule has a price tag.
While understaffing is often seen as the biggest threat to sales, overstaffing silently erodes profitability. Many retailers underestimate how much unnecessary hours cost – and how easily they can be avoided with data-driven planning.

Why Overstaffing Happens

• Habit-based scheduling: Shifts repeated from last year or last month, regardless of new traffic patterns.

• Safety bias: Managers add “extra coverage” to avoid complaints, even when it’s not needed.

• Lack of insight: Without clear data on sales per hour, it’s hard to see where labor costs are wasted.

The Hidden Costs

1. Margin Erosion
   Labor is often 10–15% of revenue in retail. Just 5% overstaffing can cut margins significantly.

2. Lower Productivity
   More people on the floor doesn’t always mean better service – idle staff means wasted capacity.

3. Employee Impact
   Overstaffing can lead to boredom, disengagement, and unfair distribution of hours across the team.

4. Missed Optimization
   Extra hours in quiet periods could have been shifted to peak times for much higher return.

Measuring Overstaffing

The simplest way:

• Compare Revenue per Staff Hour (RPSH) with target benchmarks.

• Track periods where staff hours increase but sales remain flat.

• Identify patterns by day and hour where labor consistently exceeds demand.

How to Reduce Overstaffing

• Shift from “coverage” to “demand-based” planning. Use traffic forecasts and sales data to build schedules.

• Redistribute hours to high-value windows. Don’t cut staff – move them to the moments where conversion is highest.

• Cross-train staff. Ensure flexibility so employees can add value (stock, training, customer follow-up) when traffic is low.

• Review weekly. A simple dashboard showing labor vs. sales highlights overspend immediately.

Real-World Example

A fashion retailer discovered they were consistently overstaffed by 8% on weekday mornings. By reallocating hours to Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons, they achieved the optimal balance:

• Cut labor costs by NOK 1.2M annually – without reducing headcount, only by matching staffing to demand.

• Increased conversion by +2.5 percentage points – avoiding costly understaffing that leads to lost sales.

• Improved employee satisfaction – staff got shifts when stores were busy, engaging, and rewarding.

The goal isn’t fewer employees. It’s the right employees at the right time. Understaffing silently drains revenue; overstaffing quietly erodes profit. The sweet spot is where every labor hour contributes meaningfully to sales and customer experience.

The Balance Point

The goal isn’t fewer staff – it’s the right staff at the right time. Understaffing costs in lost sales, but overstaffing quietly drains profit. The sweet spot is where every worked hour contributes meaningfully to revenue.

How Retail Insight Helps

1. Prediction: AI-powered scheduling aligned with traffic and sales forecasts.

2. Analytics: Identify where stores are overstaffed or understaffed in real time.

3. Performance: Empower managers with clear insights to adjust and optimize.

• Discover your hidden labor costs: Book a free review of your staffing data.

• See your ROI potential: Pilot our predictive staffing tools.

• Maximize profit per hour worked: Shift from gut-feel to data-driven scheduling.

Contact support@retailinsight.no or click Book Demo to uncover the real cost of overstaffing in your stores.

Article made available by Kenneth Røsseth-Sørensen, CEO, Retail Insight