How Meerby Turns Retail staff gaps into growth levers
In 2025, 88% of shoppers say the experience matters as much as the product itself, why is it so hard to find staff in retail stores?
Think back to your last visit to a store. Did you notice products that weren’t accessible without staff intervention? Were the items merchandised to be accessible to you? Were there staff readily available? Chances are, the answer was no. And that’s a problem.
As a retailer, these are the things I think about every day. We’re all working hard to deliver amazing experiences for customers and staff, but hiring and retaining talent remains one of the biggest challenges we face. In fact, 69% of retailers cite staffing as their top concern. That’s why the smartest retailers aren’t just filling gaps. They’re turning those gaps into growth levers.
Here’s how Meerby is helping do just that:
At Canadian Tire Kanata, we installed 291 Meerby help buttons across the retail floor, especially at locked showcases and high-value item zones where sales often slip through the cracks.
These buttons are creating a smarter store. On retail’s busiest day—Black Friday 2024—we tracked 15 Meerby-enabled stores against those without. The result? Meerby stores saw an average basket increase of $8.91, compared to $4.81 in non-Meerby stores, an 85% uplift.
Why? When help is easy to access, customers don’t just complete purchases; they buy more. Every interaction becomes an opportunity instead of a missed chance.
“291 help buttons? Staff must hate that.”
Actually, the opposite. Meerby isn’t your average call button system. It acts as an intelligent in-store dispatcher, assigning help requests based on staff roles, skillsets, and availability. If someone’s unavailable, the request escalates automatically, so no customer is left waiting, and no employee is overloaded.
Burnout doesn’t come from being busy. It comes from being unsupported and unsure of what’s expected. Meerby brings clarity to the chaos, so teams feel more in control and more empowered.
This clarity reduces stress, improves morale, and lowers costly turnover. It’s not just about efficiency. It’s about making frontline roles more sustainable.
Most retailers spend millions on layouts, signage, and promotions, but all of that effort fails if a customer can’t get help at the moment they need it. The truth is: staff visibility is a conversion issue.
Missed interactions used to go unnoticed. Not anymore. Meerby logs every request, routes it intelligently, and escalates as needed. This turns previously invisible friction into a measurable opportunity.
Retailers can finally see where help is needed, when it’s working, and where there’s room to improve. That operational insight becomes a competitive edge, and a powerful lever for growth.
Smart retailers aren’t just managing labour. They’re unlocking it. It’s not about hiring more people, it’s about making every team member more effective, more supported, and more valuable.
With 44% of frontline workers considering leaving their jobs within 6 months—and turnover costing nearly $10K per associate—retailers can’t afford inefficiency any longer.
Meerby helps convert more shoppers, prevent burnout, and turn every interaction into a measurable win.
Ready to see it in action?
Helping Stores Turn More Shoppers Into Buyers
I am Rikesh, leading operations at Meerby, but our Co-Founders are the same people I have worked for since I was 15. Meerby was developed in Canadian Tire Kanata, a recognized store for excellence. Our lived experience is what we aim to share in our blogs.
Meerby helps stores close the gap between customer expectation and operational capacity. It gives structure where there’s chaos, visibility where there was guesswork and growth where others see limitation.
Staff are still a retailer’s number one asset. Meerby just helps them shine.
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