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The era of e-commerce has redefined who will continue to work in the retail industry.

Shenzhen Translation Bureau is its compilation team, focusing on technology, business, workplace, life and other fields, focusing on introducing new foreign technologies, new perspectives and new trends.

Editor’s note: Postmen, Internet celebrities, and artificial intelligence have become the main driving forces of “Black Friday” marketing in the United States today. They play different roles to adapt to the changes brought by the Internet. This article will use six stories to talk about the changes in the composition of the modern workforce, while also drawing a microcosm of the US retail industry in 2019. This article was translated from an article in the New York Times entitled “Modern Black Friday Work Force: Postal Clerk, Influencer, Robot ” by Michael Corkery and Sapna Maheshwari.

Daniel Dorsa for The New York Times

A postman who is constantly processing Amazon returns; a part-time warehouse clerk with irregular working hours, holding a low salary, and no medical insurance; an influencer who sells products to fans on Instagram; and a scan at Walmart Robots on shelves. They make up the epitome of the US retail workforce in 2019. Although nearly 5 million people are still engaged in traditional retail jobs, such as selling things in physical stores. But from the actual situation, today’s retail industry is actually driven by a variety of employees, temporary workers and artificial intelligence.

The changes in labor force reflect changes in consumer demand—the pursuit of lower prices and more convenience. Shopping, even in brick-and-mortar stores, can change the way we interact with shop assistants. Let’s talk about the current situation of modern retail industry through six stories.

Luggage salesman

Sterling Lewis

There are not many retail workers like Mr. Lewis. He started working at Macy’s 37 years ago and still sells luggage at Macy’s Herald Square.

Lewis moved from Trinidad to Brooklyn when he was 13 years old. He dropped out of school because of his son’s birth shortly after college. So, he applied to work in a warehouse of Macy’s, and worked overtime to make money to support his family. He once said, “Whatever a man is, he should do whatever he wants.” At that time, he never thought he would be engaged in the retail industry in the future.

Lewis now has annual income of $ 70,000, including wages and a 2% commission on each item.

He said it might be tempting to direct consumers to buy Tumi bags up to $ 1,000, but by doing so, the return rate would be high. “I usually introduce products to customers from low to high. I just want customers to say the phrase,” Show me something better for you. “

Lewis is now 63 years old. His wife works in a shoe store, and they know each other there. The couple saved enough money and bought a house on the corner of Jackson Heights. The backyard of the house was large enough to plant three fig trees, a grape stand, and a bell pepper, garlic, and kale And strawberry vegetable field.

Lewis wore a gold hoop earring and a blue ribbon around her neck to show off her membership in the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Identity.

Will he encourage his 3-year-old grandson to work in a store someday in the future? “Absolutely not!” Lewis said: “The retail industry is saturated and there is no better development there . “

Robot

Wall-E

The robot Wall-E starts to work at 4 am, browsing the shelves in the corridor to find those “out of stock” items that need to be replenished.

This robot has a long white neck, spotlights, and 15 cameras that can take thousands of photos. These photos are uploaded directly to colleagues’ handheld devices, telling them which shelves need to be restocked.

After the scan, Wall-E stopped in a small corner of the store with a bright blue sign next to it that said: “Our employees can change everything” and “It’s snoring” ‘Charge the battery.’

Wall-E works at Walmart in Philipsburg. It operates two shifts seven days a week. It is said to have previously been a railroad and industrial center on the Delaware River.

The robot Wall-E is designed by robot company Bossa Nova. It is only one of 350 robots that work for Wal-Mart. They exist to liberate employees and give employees more opportunities. Interact with customers, or focus on other company projects, such as Wal-Mart’s ongoing service of delivering grocery to customers who order online. This month, the Wal-Mart in Philipsburg has recruited 22 new employees, and plans to recruit another 25 after that.

Tom McGowan, store manager, says employees have embraced the robot because it does a job that nobody likes and is boring-counting out-of-stock items. (Wal-Mart allows shop assistants to name each robot. Like other workers, Wall-E also wears his own brand)

Customers have some different reactions to this: some children try to ride on robots, and many adults choose to ignore these things and continue shopping. But the existence of robots has caused some people to question whether robots are taking away human jobs?

McGowan said, “I told these people, ‘No, in fact, I still have a lot of job opportunities here. If you want to come, feel free to apply.’

Warehouse workers

Nevin Muni

For Ms. Muni, in AstoriaThe life of a warehouse casual worker is almost unpredictable.

In most cases, Mooney’s working hours are either 12 hours or 16 hours a day, and she is often called to work overtime on the day off. Mooney holds the local minimum wage of $ 15 an hour, but even then she never refuses. “I have to live within my means,” she said, “no matter what kind of job I find, I can accept it.”

Muni, 52, is a Turkish immigrant. From her home in Elmhurst, Queens to the shop where she worked, there were several trains in the middle, so she and her husband had to leave at less than 6 am. His husband was a stroke patient. Before recovering. In the past month, in order to save money, Mooney bought a subway monthly card instead of paying money every time he took the subway. But the card ended up losing money because there were no extra shifts that month.

Although she doesn’t have medical insurance, she can do something. Recently, she asked a dental student at New York University to help her fill her teeth.

Muni moved to New York eight years ago. She recently joined a workers’ organization called the Retail Action Project, a vocational training program under the Retail employees union. She has a degree in Media Economics and Human Resource Management from a Turkish university. But working in a crowded and closed T.J.Maxx, especially in men’s inner hangers and in the storeroom behind Christmas series pillow boxes, her two degrees are not very useful.

Muni unloads the box from the delivery truck and hangs the previous season’s pajamas and formal shirts on hangers for display in the store. Colleagues are women from Peru, Ecuador, Morocco and the Dominican Republic.

“We talked and laughed together, we talked about each other’s family,” she said. “Although I work hard, I love these friends.”

Postman

Eric C. Wilson

Mr. Wilson found that the Internet has disrupted the way Americans shop and communicate, and it’s also based on the fact that he stayed at the post office service window for more than 30 years.

58-year-old Wilson has just startedIn this line, his job is mainly dealing with letters, cards and parcels. But he said that after the popularity of e-mail and text messaging, business in the postal industry declined. Now, his window is filled with a special package, namely the return of online shopping, which has become an important part of his daily work.

“We receive hundreds or thousands of such emails, especially this time of year.” Wilson, the father of two children, said in a phone interview driving to his home in Stamford, Connecticut.

This change is actually a side effect of the online shopping boom, but the benefits brought by online shopping are far higher than physical stores. It’s also good for post offices and employees like Wilson.

Wilson said, “They used to think that the Internet would kill the postal service, but in fact, the postal service is still very helpful because people’s shopping methods have changed to online ordering.”

He said Wilson’s post office will provide four to five service windows, usually two, between Thanksgiving weekend and December 24. The business of sending parcels to Amazon is indeed a big change compared to handling letters before, but it doesn’t seem to be so sad for Wilson.

“I don’t miss the time when I was dealing with letters,” he said, “Just adapt to changes.”

Net Red

Melea Johnson

Although technically, Ms. Johnson is not in the retail industry, she is actually one of many social media influencers, and by giving herself about 83,000 followers on Instagram and YouTube 355,000 subscribers promoted the product, thus becoming the core influencer in this industry.

Throughout November, Johnson, 37, called it “Black May.” For herself, it is estimated that she will participate in nearly 20 sponsored events, in which the brand will pay her a certain promotion fee. When her followers follow her link and complete the purchase, she also gets some commissions from retailers such as Best Buy and Target.

“Now, I’ve started a media marketing company,” said Johnson, who lives on the outskirts of Salt Lake City. “I’ve talked to many brands,They don’t spend that much on TV commercials, but they spend all their money on the influencer’s marketing or online sales, because they can get greater returns from it. “

John’s post sometimes shows pictures of her 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son. Ten years ago, she started blogging about bargains on a website called Freebies 2 Deals (though it is now sold) as a way to work from home.

On Instagram, she posted that she urged audiences to buy cardigans at Amazon and toys at Target, interspersed with dating selfies and parenting.

She said: “People who follow me or watch my story feel like we are good friends.” When Johnson recommends a good thing or product that they like, “this will build another layer of their Trust. “

Another form of logistics worker

Sherika McGibbon

When Ms. McGibbon started working at Zara six years ago, customers seemed to be more patient than they are now.

She said, “People are in a hurry right now. They don’t need to spend time touching the clothes to feel the texture. They just want to buy it quickly and then leave.”

McGibbon has worked in many parts of the retail industry, including Gap and Daffy’s, a large discount store that is now closed. She blames this change on online shopping, but online shopping is indeed more convenient in terms of shopping experience.

E-commerce has also changed McGibbon’s daily life, turning her Zara near Union Square into a small logistics center. McGibbon’s hourly salary is about $ 16. In the first half of the morning, she interacts with customers on the sales floor. After lunch, she goes to the warehouse to organize the FedEx boxes. Until 5 pm, the courier will pick up twice a day. goods.

Mike Gibbons, 31, usually packs 50 order packages a day. Her store is expected to place 2,000 orders over the weekend of Black Friday.

As a single mother raising a 12-year-old son, McGibbon says she still likes to help customers match clothes. As a hobby, she often advises friends and family about how to dress. She calls her consulting firm “S”herika style” (Stylin’by Sherika), and I hope that one day I can really turn it into a business.

“The retail industry is growing rapidly,” she said while listening to exciting music in a store on Fifth Avenue. “This place is very high in adrenaline, but if one day it slows down, then I May have to go. “

Translator: Hailey