A recent study by Brightpearl by Sage reveals that the average retail business spends more than 300 hours each year on manual admin tasks, significantly impacting productivity and employee well-being. 

Polling over 1,000 businesses, the study found that US merchants dedicate 6 hours and 24 minutes weekly on manual admin tasks, 27 hours and 44 minutes per month, and 332 hours per year. 

On average, they’ll wade through hundreds of admin tasks a month – with the study highlighting that managing invoices and billing, order processing, and inventory management and stock replenishment are amongst the most despised manual jobs. 

Key Findings: 

• Retailers spend an average of nearly 332 hours annually on admin tasks. 

• 65% of businesses report an increase in administrative workload. 

• 58% of respondents feel ‘totally overwhelmed’ by their admin workload. 

• 63% of employees take work home on weekends, and 42% have used annual leave to catch up on admin tasks 

• Merchandisers have a particularly high rate of completing work admin on weekends or non-working days, with 75% taking work home with them. 

“The amount of admin we have to deal with in our work lives is immense,” said Mark Hook from Brightpearl. “Retail businesses are being suffocated by mundane tasks like order processing, invoicing, and inventory management, draining productivity, overwhelming staff, and stunting growth.” 

Brightpearl by Sage is urging merchants to embrace automation to alleviate the admin burden. “Retailers should focus on automating everything from order fulfilment and returns, to inventory management, shipping, and tax,” Hook added. “By automating repetitive tasks, retailers can save significant time, reduce the admin headache, and focus on growth and innovation.” 

However, the adoption rate remains low, with almost a third of firms polled [29%] revealing that they do not automate any aspect of their retail operation.   

Join Brightpearl by Sage’s upcoming webinar to learn how leading brands save 300 hours a year through retail automation. Click here for details.  

Most Hated Work Admin Tasks: 

• Inventory management and stock replenishment 

• Order processing  

• Product listings  

• Handling returns  

• Sales reports  

• Updating databases and documents 

• Managing payments  

• Anything involving spreadsheets 

• Managing sales tax across regions  

• Financial administration