A shopper who visits your store on November 20 and comes back on December 20 expects the same store. Same clean entrance. Same full shelves. Same products in the same places.
When the second visit feels worse than the first, they notice.
Keeping that experience steady is harder this year. The National Retail Federation predicts November and December retail sales will grow 4.2% over 2025, reaching $1.013 trillion, while it expects retailers to hire between 325,000 and 375,000 seasonal workers. Retail Dive described that hiring outlook as muted.
But the challenge isn’t just having enough people. It’s having the right people, doing the work the right way, from the first holiday weekend through the last January reset.
That’s the work InDemand Services does every day: supplying retailers with dependable crews for resets, remodels, endcap changes, backroom services, and janitorial support, so stores stay consistent for customers even when internal teams are stretched to their limit.
Headcount and consistency are two different things. A provider can fill every shift you request and still leave a store feeling uneven if each crew works to a different standard. Consistency comes from shared standards, not just headcount.
Customers don’t grade a store on its best day. They grade it on whether it holds up. And the research shows they leave quickly when it doesn’t:
That Zebra number deserves a second look. Nearly a third of those shoppers weren’t facing an empty shelf. They simply couldn’t find what they wanted.
That’s what happens when a reset goes in sloppy, when product drifts out of place, or when signage doesn’t match the shelf. It’s an execution problem, and it gets worse when the people doing the work aren’t held to one standard.
The Stable Scheduling Study, led in part by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, tested 28 Gap stores over 10 months. Stores with more stable scheduling saw median sales rise 7% compared with their peers, and labor productivity rose 5%.
The reason matters most. Researchers found that more stable schedules improved retention among experienced workers who had greater knowledge of products and processes, which helped explain the productivity gain.
In other words, know-how is a sales tool. The same is true of outside support. When every crew member performs to the same standard, any team that walks into your store knows how the work should be done. Less direction, faster results.
InDemand Services has built its work around the realities of retail operations, and we know peak season doesn’t stop on December 25. Here’s where our teams support stores through the full stretch.
Resets That Keep Products Findable. A reset is only as good as its accuracy. When product lands in the right spot and matches the planogram, shoppers find what they came for. Our Project Support crews execute holiday and post-holiday resets with that precision in mind.
Full Remodels Into Q1. January and February are prime remodel windows. Our crews handle fixture work, relocations, and full remodels while your store stays open and shoppable.
Endcap Changeovers That Match the Calendar. Peak season keeps the promotional calendar moving: Black Friday, Cyber Week, last-minute gifting, after-Christmas clearance, then New Year categories like organization and fitness. We keep each changeover on schedule so what shoppers see in the store matches what they saw in your ad.
Backroom Services. When a customer asks, “Do you have this in the back?” the answer should take seconds, not ten minutes of digging. Our Store Operations Support teams handle truck unloads, sorting, and backroom organization, so your associates can actually find what customers ask for.
Front-End and Parking Lot Support. The customer experience starts before anyone walks through the door. Holiday crowds mean full parking lots and scattered carts. Our teams can support cart retrieval and front-end cashier coverage, so the first and last minutes of a visit go smoothly.
Janitorial and Custodial Support. Holiday foot traffic and winter weather wear a store down fast. Our Custodial Support teams cover restrooms, entryways, and floors, plus the detail work that often gets skipped during peak, like gondola and cooler cleaning.
The January Transition. After the holidays, stores shift into clearance, recovery, and new category sets all at once. Our crews help your team reset the store for the year ahead without falling behind.
Your customers expect the same great store every time they walk in, whether it’s the first week of November or the first week of January.
InDemand Services gives your team the consistent support to deliver it.
InDemand Services is a retail workforce staffing company headquartered in Raleigh, NC. With dedicated workers, real-time project tracking through Cruxos, and extensive account management, InDemand helps retail operators execute peak season work without overloading their core teams. People With Purpose.
