Shop and checkout staff are the most frequently thanked workers in the UK, according to new research, although their average earnings remain significantly below the national full-time salary.
A study by delivery insurance provider Street Cover found that shop and checkout staff received more recognition than any other profession examined, ahead of waiting staff, taxi drivers and hairdressers.
The research, published in October 2026, analysed nearly 1,400 posts across 11 UK online forum discussions, examining which workers people said they regularly thanked.
Of the 99 forum users who mentioned shop and checkout staff, 66 said they thanked them, giving the profession a thank-you score of 67 out of 100.
However, despite receiving the highest level of recognition, shop and checkout workers typically earn £25,100 a year, approximately 36 per cent below the average UK full-time salary.
Their typical hourly wage of £12.62 is also just 41p above the legal minimum used in the study.
Waiting staff ranked second, with a thank-you score of 39, followed by taxi and minicab drivers (26), hairdressers and barbers (24), and delivery drivers (19).
The findings also highlighted the gap between customer appreciation and earnings across several customer-facing professions.
Waiting staff typically earn £22,900 annually, around 41 per cent below the national full-time average, while delivery drivers earn approximately £27,900.
Coffee shop and fast food workers, who ranked seventh for customer appreciation, recorded the lowest annual earnings among the professions listed, at £21,600.
Meanwhile, doctors and surgeons were the only profession in the top six to earn above the national average, with typical annual salaries of £78,800.
Al Taylor, Head of Street Cover, said: “People appreciate the workers who keep everyday life moving, from delivery drivers bringing essentials to our doors to taxi drivers getting people safely to their destinations.
“Recognition from customers matters, but it’s equally important to recognise the practical and financial pressures these workers face.
“For people on wages close to the legal minimum, a tip is one small way that appreciation turns into something tangible.”
Mr Taylor also highlighted changes to tipping legislation, which came into effect in October 2024, requiring employers to pass qualifying tips and service charges on to staff without deductions, apart from applicable tax and National Insurance.
The research comes as retailers prepare for the busy Christmas trading period, when shopfloor and checkout employees are likely to experience increased customer demand.
Street Cover said its findings were based on online forum discussions rather than a nationally representative survey, meaning the results reflect the views of participating internet users rather than the wider UK population.
The full research findings are available here.
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