Shop assistants and the retail renaissance

BAD FOR shop assistants, good for shoppers. That is the obvious inference from the upheaval in retailing that is leaving shopping malls and high streets, and millions of low-income jobs, surplus to requirements, yet panders to the consumer’s craving for convenience. It is, though, an oversimplification. Retail-related jobs will change but not disappear. And shoppers must make uncomfortable choices about privacy and the exploitation of data.