Shoppers are returning to stores especially as society learns to live with the pandemic. During the start of the 2022 holiday season, the number of shoppers going back to physical stores well exceeded the expectations of the National Retail Federation. But stores continue to face the reality of not having enough store associates to manage the foot traffic. A study from UKG finds many U.S.-based retail stores are struggling to meet sales goals because they are short staffed (80 percent, up from 68 percent in 2021). The study says customers will likely feel the impact of these labor challenges when shopping for the holidays (72 percent).