Instawork Named “Workforce Hiring Solution of the Year” by RetailTech Breakthrough

At Instawork, we’re proud to share that we’ve been named the 2025 Workforce Hiring Solution of the Year by the RetailTech Breakthrough Awards, a prestigious recognition of the innovative technology reshaping how retail businesses connect with the skilled labor they need for operational success.

This honor comes at a pivotal moment for the retail industry, as businesses navigate persistent hiring challenges, increased demand volatility, and rising expectations for in-store execution. 

The RetailTech Breakthrough Awards spotlight companies and solutions driving true transformation across the sector, and we’re proud to stand among the winners making an impact.

Why this matters to retailers

The recognition underscores something our Partners already know: solving retail’s labor problem challenges takes more than just filling shifts, it takes precision, agility, and advanced technology.

Our platform helps retailers and warehouse operators hire faster, smarter, and more reliably through a combination of AI-powered matching, real-time labor intelligence, and a high-quality network of over 7 million hourly workers. Whether you're staffing for peak season, scaling for new store openings, or addressing last-minute callouts, Instawork helps ensure your workforce is never a limiting factor.

A high-tech, high-touch approach to staffing

What sets Instawork apart is our ability to blend automation with human reliability, what we call our “high-tech, high-touch” approach. Our award-winning platform uses AI behind the scenes to streamline every part of the staffing journey:

• AI-powered matching trained on millions of successful shifts to connect you with the right workers in real time
  
  
• Automated interviews and skill assessments to ensure worker quality
  
  
• Geofencing and time tracking to verify attendance and reduce payroll discrepancies
  
  
• Task validation and merchandising support to keep in-store execution on point
  
  
• Real-time performance analytics so you can track outcomes and continuously optimize
  
  

These capabilities drive a 98% show rate, a dramatic leap from the 40–50% average seen in traditional staffing solutions. And the best part? We do all of this without adding complexity to your team’s day-to-day operations.

Delivering impact where it counts

For our retail Partners, this recognition validates what they’ve experienced firsthand: Instawork doesn’t just fill roles, it builds workforce resilience.

By reducing time-to-fill from weeks to hours and enabling predictive, data-driven staffing decisions, we’re helping businesses stay agile in a fast-moving market. Store managers can focus more on customers and sales, and less on backfilling open shifts.

And for our Partners looking ahead to seasonal surges, regional rollouts, or omnichannel operations, this award affirms that Instawork is a partner built to scale with you, no matter how dynamic your staffing needs become.

Recognized, growing, and committed to the Future of Work

This latest award adds to a growing list of recognitions for Instawork’s impact and innovation:

• Top 10% of the Inc. 5000 list (2022, 2023)
  
  
• Forbes Next Billion Dollar Startup
  
  
• Business Insider’s “Best Business Apps”
  
  
• ACE Award for “Best Innovation”
  
  

Each milestone reflects our deep commitment to supporting the businesses, and the people, that keep the economy moving.

Learn more about how Instawork is transforming retail staffing: https://www.instawork.com/categories/retail