Jobs in the UK luxury retail sector have grown by 235 per cent year-on-year according to the latest Retail Employment Insight Report from RetailChoice.com, the UK’s largest specialist retail recruitment website. Luxury retail roles now account for five per cent of all jobs advertised on the site.
E-commerce experts are also in high demand. The UK has the highest proportion of online spending in the world and the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index forecasts that this will grow by 17% in 2014. As consumers continue to shop via their tablets, laptops and mobile phones, the number of e-commerce roles available is set to increase. Therefore, attracting new technical talent into the retail industry is vital.
Neil Brodie, Sales Director at RetailChoice.com explains: “The retail sector has always been a competitive industry which responds quickly to the changing needs of customers. Retailers must now adapt their recruitment strategies to meet this new technical demand. Key to this is to focus on attracting multi-talented individuals – those with technical expertise as well as commercial awareness and strong communications skills. However, with stiff competition for technical specialists from other sectors the retail industry must be smart and flexible to attract the right talent.”
North-South divide still evident
The Retail Employment Insight Report also shows that the South East remains the UK’s retail powerhouse, with 8,027 unique job adverts posted in London in H2 2013, compared to only 854 in Manchester, 186 in Liverpool and 171 in Tyne and Wear.
The number of UK retail jobs is down 56% on 2007 levels and competition for jobs remains fierce, with an average of 16 people applying for every retail role across the UK. Those looking for a retail job in the Northern cities face a harder time than in the South. 32 people applied for each position in Glasgow and Liverpool, compared to 16 in central London, 15 in Surrey and 5 in Oxfordshire.
Moreover, 85% of online retail roles were found to be located in the London and the South East regions, whereas only 60% of high street roles were based in the capital. This suggests that the North-South divide looks set to grow further as the demand for online roles increases.
“With the economic landscape looking more optimistic and consumer spending back on the rise, the UK retail industry must now look at how it attracts, recruits and retains employees to maintain a competitive edge globally.” explains Brodie.
The RetailChoice.com Retail Employment Insight Report also includes top tips for recruiters looking to hire e-commerce talent.
Download your copy of the report free of charge today at: www.retailchoice.com/rei
