The increase in popularity of online Christmas shopping in recent years is working in favour of temporary employees according to a leading Bath recruitment agency.
Juice Recruitment, which has offices in Bath, Bristol and Cheltenham, says that an increase in demand for staff from online retailers coupled with a shortage of available temps has created optimum conditions for those seeking temporary employment.
In the build up to Christmas 2015, online sales accounted for almost one quarter of Christmas spending, equating to £18.5 billion – an increase of approximately £2 billion from the same period in 2014.
As the online market continues to expand, due partly to the convenience of shopping via mobile and tablet devices, online retailers are facing a race against time to fill positions.
Emma Summers, Managing Director of Juice Recruitment said: “The online market is continuing to expand and we work with various clients who need to ensure that they are fulfilling their customers’ orders quickly and accurately on the run up to Christmas.
“At Juice we have seen the demand for reliable temps in the run up to the festive season increase year on year as people become more familiar with, and more confident in online retailers.
“Generally speaking, such companies start planning for the Christmas rush throughout September and October. We have been extremely busy helping to source temporary workers over recent weeks to allow our clients to continue with the main focus of their businesses – fulfilling customer orders.”
It is estimated that some 27% of retail sales now take place online, and in 2016 a further 11% growth is predicted.
This prediction is supported by the Office for National Statistics which reports the average weekly spending online in September 2016 was £931.0 million – an increase of 22.0% compared with September 2015.
Teleperformance is a multinational company specialising in customer experience management for online shopping. As online retailers experience a surge in demand in the run up to the festive season, Teleperformance is busy helping them to monitor their operation.
Richard Piggot from Teleperformance added: “At this time of year the need for reliable, top quality temp staff is key for Teleperformance especially with the increase in assistance needed for our clients seeing an increase in on-line shopping and on-line services.”