Companies plan to automate and raise prices in response to a higher minimum wage

See CFOs Expect Financial Hit From Potential Minimum Wage Increase by Mark Maurer of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Five Below Inc., a Philadelphia-based discount retailer, plans to respond to potentially higher labor costs in part by continuing to increase the number of employee-assisted self-check-out stations as opposed to traditional checkouts, allowing more transactions to be completed, Chief Financial Officer Ken Bull said Feb. 3. The company employs more than 15,000 people and operates about 1,020 stores."

"Good Times Restaurants Inc., a Lakewood, Colo.-based operator of more than 60 burger-bar or fast-food locations, plans to raise prices of some menu options to offset a higher minimum wage, Ryan Zink, the company’s chief executive and principal financial officer, said Feb. 9.

The company is also considering investing in technology such as hand-held devices that would allow customers of Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar to place their own orders and pay their own checks without any staff involved, Mr. Zink said. “It will require change and for us to adapt our business model,” he said. Mr. Zink declined to comment on what the devices would cost."

"1-800-Flowers.com Inc., a Carle Place, N.Y.-based floral-gift retailer, plans to automate more tasks in its manufacturing and distribution operations to become less reliant on its seasonal labor force, CFO William Shea said on a Jan. 28 earnings call. The company, which owns 15 e-commerce brands, has more than 3,300 year-round employees in seven U.S. states and employs temporary workers on top of that."