There have been significant news stories popping up on the Internet in the last couple of weeks concerning the retail and eCommerce industries and jobs in this area. We summarise these and talk about how to adapt your retail recruitment strategy in response to the latest data.
Girl Power in eCommerce
Startups.co.uk released a story about the success of women in eCommerce. It’s common knowledge that big corporates such as Lloyds are striving to get more women in senior roles, but it seems where the fairer sex are prevailing naturally is in the self-employed arena. The number of female eCommerce entrepeneurs is growing faster than anywhere else in Europe, rising 28% between 2009 – 2014. Not only that, they’re hiring! Ten percent of female-founded eCommerce platforms have employees vs. 2% of male-founded stores.
Good News for Candidates
In general, the hospitality industry is doing well, but in some areas the number of jobs is outstripping the number of candidates, giving those applying for positions more power. CV-Library released figures stating there had been a 61% increase in jobs over the past year for the hospitality industry:
– The biggest increase (75.3%) in hospitality jobs has occurred in the South West
– In total there is a deficit of 32.5% in the number of applications to hospitality jobs
So you’re a candidate looking to work in this area, note your worth in the current climate!
Sales on the Up
Despite signs of a struggle on the recruitment side as per above, sales are up in the retail sector:
– 36% of retailers said sales volumes rose in July 2015 compared with the previous year vs. just 15% who said they were down
– Clothing sales grew strongly, whereas Internet sales remained constant and footwear and leather sales decreased
In addition, a survey looking at the future of eCommerce highlighted online security as a concern for eCommerce shoppers and reported a shift in eCommerce focus to mobile and favourable social media experiences.
eCommerce and Retail Recruitment
With all the above data in mind spanning the industry: a shortage of candidates, good demand for services and digital continuing to dominate, how should one recruit successfully in this area?
In our opinion, and in line with current trends for eCommerce recruitment you need digital and social media specialists among your staff alongside competent web developers to provide a a) secure, b) mobile and c) positively influenced social media experiences for your online store.
As for the lack of talent applying for hospitality jobs, should the cost not be too extreme, a mobile application process is favourable and can increase the number of job applications you receive. In addition, longer job descriptions and accurate job titles tend to increase the number of candidates that apply to your position too.
Finally, in keeping with the problem of recruitment in hospitality and in addition to posting on job boards, social media outreach can prove effective as a recruitment method, you can use an eCommerce and retail recruitment agency such as ourselves to source you quality talent and even internal hiring and referral programmes to add to your recruitment remit and boost those application numbers.
Problem with retail recruitment? Problem solved!
Castle Hill House