As retailers wrap up the holiday season, Q1 is more than “wind-down” — it’s set-up for the year ahead.
Data shows that U.S. retail sales for Q1 2025 experienced an estimated 3% revenue increase compared to the previous year. This signals that early readiness can make the difference between maintaining momentum or falling behind.
Retailers heading into Q1 need stability, speed, and dependable support, especially after the intense demands of the holiday season. Understaffed stores, delayed resets, and missed operational deadlines can slow down momentum at the very moment retailers are working to start the year strong.
InDemand Services helps eliminate those challenges by providing a skilled, reliable temporary workforce that keeps operations running smoothly. With rapid deployment, consistent performance, and retail-ready teams, InDemand ensures your locations maintain efficiency, stay on schedule, and are fully prepared for a fast start to the new year.
The weeks immediately following the holidays often bring a steep drop in available labor. While stores face rising operational pressure, many teams are stretched thin from peak-season demands. According to the American Staffing Association, staffing employment fell 9.0% from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025, a predictable seasonal decline that leaves many retailers scrambling for coverage.
At the same time, turnover remains a major concern. According to the 2025 Mercer Turnover Survey, the retail and wholesale industry reported a turnover rate of 26.7%, significantly higher than the national average of 13.0%.
InDemand Services bridges this gap with flexible, rapid-response staffing solutions deployed nationwide. Teams are prepped for retail operations and high-volume environments, and ready to step in quickly so retailers can transition smoothly from holiday peak to Q1 priorities.
Some of the most essential retail tasks are the ones customers never see directly. This includes stocking shelves, managing inventory, maintaining organized backrooms, and upholding store cleanliness.
These foundational activities have a direct impact on customer experience and early-year sales performance.
Seasonal employment trends highlight the challenge. Retail employment typically sees increases of nearly half a million workers from October through December, followed by immediate staffing reductions once holiday demand declines.
Retailers often struggle to keep pace during this transition, making it even more important to have support ready to step in where needed.
With fewer hands available, tasks pile up quickly. InDemand supports retailers during this transition with temporary workers ready to assist with:
With the right staffing support, stores stay clean, stocked, and ready for the first surge of new-year shoppers.
Q1 is one of the busiest periods for merchandising resets, layout refreshes, and new product introductions, all of which directly influence sales performance.
According to a 2025 Forbes analysis, strategic store layout and well-executed merchandising “can make every square foot of your store work harder to support the bottom line.” Clear, updated displays play a large part in guiding shopper behavior and increasing revenue.
Our InDemand teams nationwide perform:
Having the right labor in place ensures these projects stay on schedule and deliver the brand consistency retailers need to drive early-year sales.
Operational execution is only as effective as the visibility behind it.
InDemand Services supports this need through Cruxos™, a real-time project tracking platform that gives retailers clear insight into project progress, labor allocation, hours worked, and overall performance across every location.
This level of transparency empowers retailers to make quicker, data-driven decisions, maintain tighter cost control, and adjust plans without disrupting momentum.
With Cruxos™, retailers can monitor exactly what is happening across stores and projects, allowing them to stay proactive and ensure consistency during the critical Q1 transition period.
Without additional staffing support, post-holiday challenges can quickly pile up and lead to:
These issues can linger into Q1, affecting customer experience and reducing early-year sales opportunities. InDemand enables retailers to avoid these setbacks by deploying skilled temporary teams who help stabilize operations immediately after the holiday season.
Industry forecasts indicate continued pressure on retailers in the upcoming year. Deloitte’s 2025 holiday outlook projects total holiday retail sales growth of 2.9% to 3.4%, and e-commerce growth of 7%–9%, signaling modest but competitive gains.
With margins tightening and customer expectations rising, retailers cannot afford delays in store readiness or merchandising accuracy.
Getting ahead of Q1 operational needs provides a meaningful competitive advantage.
By preparing early and securing reliable support, retailers can position their stores to operate smoothly and capitalize on every sales opportunity as the new year begins.
Partnering with InDemand Services gives retailers the skilled, flexible workforce needed to navigate the high-pressure shift from Q4 to Q1 with confidence.
InDemand teams support everything from stocking and inventory management to resets, remodels, fixture installations, and daily operational needs, ensuring stores stay organized, efficient, and customer-ready.
With the added visibility of Cruxos™, retail leaders can monitor progress in real time, manage budgets effectively, and keep key initiatives on track.
By reinforcing store operations and eliminating post-holiday bottlenecks, InDemand helps retailers maintain consistency, protect sales, and enter the new year with the momentum needed for a strong start.
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