STUDY LABOUR AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTO­MATION IN RETAIL Benefits, challenges and implications (a union perspective) Wil Hunt and Steve Rolf February 2022 • The retail sector is the major private-sector employer in most European economies. However, it has long suffered from relatively low productivity, weak investment, and poor working conditions. • Covid-19 has accelerated the trend of automation, digital­isation and the use of AI and robotics in the retail sector. • While investment in digitali­sation offers benefits to firms and consumers, it poses threats to workers. These come in the form of an intensification and degradation of working conditions, and the potential to undermine existing collective agreements in retail.