England 07/12/2012 – At Christmas, retail recruitment agencies are always busy, and this year will be no different
Despite the recession, retail recruitment agencies expect to still be busy. Whilst it is true that people will spend less than they did in the past, they are still going to buy as many presents, overall, as usual. The marked difference is that, like last year, the presents they buy will be cheaper than the ones they would have chosen in the past. The impact of this decision by consumers is that stores will still be as busy, if not busier than they were last year. In fact, there are signs that the Christmas rush is going to last longer than normal, so additional staff may be needed for longer than in the past.
Many retailers believe that this year consumers will spread out their purchases more to better manage their budgets. In fact, quite a few large high-street retailers are actively encouraging people to do so. Waitrose has been stocking Christmas goodies such as Christmas puddings and minced pies since late October and amazingly, they began selling immediately. Advent calendars are flying off the shelves with sales up on 2011 levels, for the same period, by over 30%. Retailers are keen to extend the shopping season and have already begun to recruit temporary staff, in preparation.
Many retailers are already discounting products they expect to be popular Christmas presents. At the moment, the best offers are to be had on children’s toys, which many retailers are selling at discounts of up to 50%. Again, these are being snapped up by consumers, with the more popular lines going out of stock in many stores. Getting ahead on Christmas shopping is helping consumers to feel better about their financial situation, because they already have the basics, they can stop worrying about how they are going to afford Christmas.
Recruitment agencies see demand for seasonal jobs rise
Agencies like RetailChoice.com have seen interest in seasonal work increase again this year. A significant proportion of the job searches carried out on their website over the past few weeks have been for seasonal jobs, in particular seasonal retail jobs. They believe that UK retailers and online retailers will have no problems filling all of the roles they have to offer this year.
Contact:
Holden House
57 Rathbone Place
London, UK
Zip: W1T 1JU
Tel: 020 7572 4284
Email: Online form
Website: http://www.retailchoice.com/