As consumers continue to grapple with whether to tip and how much to tip their food-industry servers and other service providers, there's a new trend emerging: tipping retail workers.

In a study by Lightspeed Commerce, 69% of shoppers say they're willing to tip their retail workers to get better service during holiday shopping. That number goes up to 89% for Gen Z'ers. Additionally, 48% of shoppers are open to tipping 10% or more for exceptional service.

In data from a follow-up survey among more than 500 U.S. retail workers provided exclusively to USA TODAY, over a quarter of retail workers (27%) "want" to receive tips during the holiday season, with an additional 11% saying they actively "expect" them.

Half of those respondents (50%) anticipate tips in the range of 5% to 10% per customer, while 18% expect tips between 11% to 20%.

Forty-six percent of the retail workers said the possibility of receiving tips positively influences the level of service they provide.

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When did retail tipping become a thing?

Tipping in the hospitality sector and counter-service tipping has been a hot topic since the pandemic and the trend has started to reach the retail sector, said Dax Dasilva, CEO of Lightspeed, a point-of-sale commerce platform that serves a variety of retail and hospitality clients.

The company surveyed more than 2,500 consumers in the U.S. and Canada about their attitudes toward holiday shopping and tipping – and were surprised by the great willingness to tip retail workers, Dasilva told USA TODAY.

Gen Z'ers were more willing to tip, which seems to indicate a generational shift in attitude toward the practice, he said.

"Generationally, there's a willingness to tip for service that goes above and beyond," Dasilva said.

Forty-one percent of Gen Z'ers in the survey also said they were more interested and willing to subscribe to a retailer’s VIP service that offers perks like skipping lines, early access, and personalized shopping experiences, he said.

"A decade ago, you didn't see tipping in retail and now that's become much more prevalent and the willingness is there if the service is there," Dasilva said.

Even with inflation and concerns about higher prices during the holidays, Dasilva said he believes some people are still willing to tip their retail workers.

"Despite financial pressures, people do have empathy for people that are providing services in our economy in retail and hospitality and are willing to reward them," he said.

How much are people tipping retail workers?

Lightspeed offers its point-of-sale software to both specialty retailers, which may have more high-end products and specialized customer service, and mall retailers, which have a variety of price points. Tipping by shoppers has been increasing in all sectors of retail, Dasilva said.

Dasilva said tipping is mostly occurring at the register during the check-out process and retailers can opt-in to include a "tip" amount that shoppers can add to their transaction.

Similar to how tip suggestions are included at restaurant checkout screens, Lightspeed and other companies who offer the service can include an optional tip screen for retail customers, he said. Retailers can opt-in or disable that function, Dasilva said. Some may have policies that they don't want shoppers to have that option to tip workers, he said.

Tipping of retail workers seems to be mostly with electronic payments, instead of cash, he said.

The amount expected by retail workers in the Lightspeed survey – with 50% saying they'd expect tips between 5% to 10% – was surprising to Dasilva.

"In a restaurant, ... below 15 or 20%, (workers) aren't really that happy," he said.

Retail tipping is "a little bit different and feels a little like uncharted waters," Dasilva said, "but there's that willingness to give a little bit extra."

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What does an etiquette expert say about tipping retail workers?

At least one etiquette etiquette expert disagrees with the growing trend.

Tipping a retail worker is not necessary, not required and should not be done, said Elaine Swann, a lifestyle and etiquette coach in Carlsbad, California, and founder of The Swann School of Protocol.

"I don't believe we should begin going down this path," Swann told USA TODAY. "I do believe that tipping should remain in the space of service industry professionals and this would include everyone from your server that is delivering food to your table as you are seated, to delivery drivers and taxicabs and Lyft and so forth."

When asked if retail workers could be considered service industry workers, like coffee baristas, Swann said she does not believe coffee baristas or workers for take-out orders should be tipped, either.

"I encourage people to resist the societal pressure to tip at the counter." she said. "If you are sitting and someone serves you your meal, here in the United States you are required to tip because that individual is earning their living based upon the tips that you give. If you are standing and receiving your meal, a tip is not required."

However, Swann said if the service is exceptional or if you have a very large order, a tip may be a nice gesture.

Retail workers are paid hourly wages and their companies should be the ones to reward them with perks or bonuses, not shoppers, Swann said. Retail companies that allow tipping instead of workers earning commission from the company "are putting that on the backs of consumers," she said.

"Retailers should have strict policies that say 'Please do not tip our folks. We take good care of them ourselves,'" said Swann.

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.