Retail Contract Job Trends in England

Retailing
UK > England

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Retail in contract job vacancies in England. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Retail over the 6 months leading up to 17 June 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
17 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 94 101 78
Rank change year-on-year +7 -23 +9
Contract jobs citing Retail 1,131 645 1,005
As % of all contract jobs in England 2.63% 2.61% 2.68%
As % of the General category 4.83% 4.05% 4.69%
Number of daily rates quoted 668 331 556
10th Percentile £281 £325 £296
25th Percentile £413 £413 £400
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £525 £514
Median % change year-on-year - +2.19% -2.14%
75th Percentile £638 £629 £628
90th Percentile £738 £725 £738
UK median daily rate £525 £513 £505
% change year-on-year +2.44% +1.49% -5.43%
Number of hourly rates quoted 87 27 86
10th Percentile £13.16 £14.54 £11.44
25th Percentile £15.50 £15.25 £12.15
Median hourly rate £21.00 £16.30 £16.00
Median % change year-on-year +28.83% +1.88% -19.23%
75th Percentile £22.50 £35.38 £21.37
90th Percentile £43.75 £60.15 £21.46
UK median hourly rate £21.00 £22.50 £16.00
% change year-on-year -6.67% +40.63% -19.23%

All General Skills
England

Retail falls under the General Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring general skills in England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 23,410 15,921 21,421
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 54.53% 64.35% 57.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 14,274 10,255 13,686
10th Percentile £313 £284 £281
25th Percentile £413 £404 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £520 £520 £533
Median % change year-on-year - -2.35% -3.18%
75th Percentile £638 £640 £650
90th Percentile £749 £763 £775
UK median daily rate £514 £504 £525
% change year-on-year +1.98% -4.00% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,636 764 1,831
10th Percentile £14.22 £13.28 £12.88
25th Percentile £18.75 £16.95 £15.50
Median hourly rate £32.50 £28.00 £31.97
Median % change year-on-year +16.07% -12.42% +6.57%
75th Percentile £63.75 £53.75 £52.89
90th Percentile £82.25 £75.00 £67.50
UK median hourly rate £32.00 £27.85 £31.00
% change year-on-year +14.90% -10.16% +1.51%

Retail
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Retail relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in England.

Retail job vacancy trend in England

Retail
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Retail.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Retail

Retail
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Retail in England over the 6 months to 17 June 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Retail in England

Retail
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Retail.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Retail

Retail
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Retail in England over the 6 months to 17 June 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Retail in England

Retail
Contract Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Retail within the England region over the 6 months to 17 June 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
London +18 652 £550 - 462
South East +3 150 £525 -1.18% 445
North of England -35 135 £513 +2.50% 383
Midlands -18 95 £495 +10.00% 283
North West 0 87 £563 +12.50% 188
East of England +3 53 £523 -4.86% 237
East Midlands -3 53 £495 +7.03% 163
Yorkshire -57 45 £500 - 133
West Midlands -31 42 £500 +12.68% 120
South West -19 33 £333 -26.11% 136
North East -32 3 £173 -76.98% 66
Retail
UK

Retail
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 33 (2.92%) Confluence
2 17 (1.50%) CMS
3 15 (1.33%) Adobe Experience Manager
4 10 (0.88%) Apache Airflow
5 8 (0.71%) SharePoint
6 4 (0.35%) SAS
7 3 (0.27%) WebSphere
8 2 (0.18%) Apache Spark
8 2 (0.18%) CICS
9 1 (0.088%) Microsoft Exchange
Applications
1 33 (2.92%) Microsoft Excel
2 25 (2.21%) Microsoft Office
3 16 (1.41%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 16 (1.41%) Microsoft Project
4 13 (1.15%) Chatbot
5 11 (0.97%) MS Visio
6 10 (0.88%) Photoshop
7 8 (0.71%) Adobe Illustrator
8 7 (0.62%) Adobe Creative Suite
9 5 (0.44%) InDesign
10 3 (0.27%) Notion
10 3 (0.27%) Spreadsheet
11 2 (0.18%) UserZoom
12 1 (0.088%) 3ds Max
12 1 (0.088%) Adobe After Effects
12 1 (0.088%) Adobe XD
12 1 (0.088%) Maya
12 1 (0.088%) PlantUML
12 1 (0.088%) SOLIDWORKS
12 1 (0.088%) Trello
Business Applications
1 23 (2.03%) Shopify
2 21 (1.86%) SAP S/4HANA
3 12 (1.06%) Dynamics CRM
4 9 (0.80%) SAP Retail
5 7 (0.62%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
5 7 (0.62%) Oracle Retail
6 6 (0.53%) Finacle
6 6 (0.53%) SAP CRM
7 5 (0.44%) SAP MDG
8 4 (0.35%) Magento
8 4 (0.35%) NetSuite
8 4 (0.35%) Salesforce CRM
9 3 (0.27%) Payment Gateway
9 3 (0.27%) SAP CAR
9 3 (0.27%) SAP SD
10 2 (0.18%) Dynamics AX
10 2 (0.18%) Oracle EBS
10 2 (0.18%) SAP ERP
10 2 (0.18%) SAP MM
11 1 (0.088%) Cognos Controller
Cloud Services
1 126 (11.14%) Azure
2 97 (8.58%) AWS
3 66 (5.84%) GCP
4 60 (5.31%) Power Platform
5 37 (3.27%) Snowflake
6 27 (2.39%) GitHub
7 21 (1.86%) Dynamics 365
8 20 (1.77%) Azure DevOps
9 19 (1.68%) GitHub Actions
10 18 (1.59%) Entra ID
11 17 (1.50%) Figma
12 12 (1.06%) Azure Data Factory
12 12 (1.06%) BigCommerce
12 12 (1.06%) Salesforce Commerce Cloud
13 11 (0.97%) dbt
13 11 (0.97%) Google Workspace
13 11 (0.97%) Microsoft 365
13 11 (0.97%) SaaS
14 9 (0.80%) Cloud Run
14 9 (0.80%) Miro
Communications & Networking
1 13 (1.15%) ATM
1 13 (1.15%) WAN
2 12 (1.06%) Firewall
3 11 (0.97%) Network Security
4 10 (0.88%) VPN
4 10 (0.88%) Wireless
5 9 (0.80%) RFID
6 7 (0.62%) LAN
7 6 (0.53%) Cisco Firepower
7 6 (0.53%) SD-WAN
7 6 (0.53%) Wi-Fi
8 5 (0.44%) Cisco ASA
8 5 (0.44%) Cisco Nexus
8 5 (0.44%) VSAN
9 4 (0.35%) BGP
9 4 (0.35%) IPsec
9 4 (0.35%) OSPF
10 3 (0.27%) Broadband
10 3 (0.27%) MPLS
10 3 (0.27%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 57 (5.04%) Power BI
2 31 (2.74%) BigQuery
3 19 (1.68%) Data Warehouse
3 19 (1.68%) MySQL
4 17 (1.50%) SQL Server
5 16 (1.41%) Tableau
6 15 (1.33%) Metadata
7 12 (1.06%) Data Lake
8 10 (0.88%) NoSQL
9 9 (0.80%) Relational Database
10 6 (0.53%) Data Vault
11 5 (0.44%) MongoDB
11 5 (0.44%) PostgreSQL
11 5 (0.44%) Power Query
12 4 (0.35%) Big Data
12 4 (0.35%) Looker
12 4 (0.35%) Semantic Layer
12 4 (0.35%) Snowflake Schema
13 3 (0.27%) Amazon QuickSight
13 3 (0.27%) PowerPivot
Development Applications
1 73 (6.45%) JIRA
2 18 (1.59%) Git
3 15 (1.33%) Jenkins
4 8 (0.71%) GitLab
5 4 (0.35%) Maven
5 4 (0.35%) Subversion
6 3 (0.27%) Cypress.io
6 3 (0.27%) Eclipse
6 3 (0.27%) ERwin
6 3 (0.27%) Selenium
6 3 (0.27%) Terragrunt
7 2 (0.18%) git-flow
7 2 (0.18%) Hudson
7 2 (0.18%) JMeter
7 2 (0.18%) MLflow
7 2 (0.18%) Postman
7 2 (0.18%) WebDriver
7 2 (0.18%) webpack
8 1 (0.088%) HP UFT
8 1 (0.088%) Toad
General
1 323 (28.56%) Social Skills
2 270 (23.87%) Finance
3 104 (9.20%) Analytical Skills
4 98 (8.66%) Banking
5 72 (6.37%) Marketing
6 57 (5.04%) Organisational Skills
7 56 (4.95%) Manufacturing
8 46 (4.07%) Retail Banking
9 38 (3.36%) Investment Banking
10 34 (3.01%) Corporate Banking
11 27 (2.39%) Telecoms
12 25 (2.21%) Documentation Skills
12 25 (2.21%) Public Sector
13 22 (1.95%) Presentation Skills
14 19 (1.68%) Influencing Skills
14 19 (1.68%) Legal
15 17 (1.50%) French Language
16 16 (1.41%) Advertising
17 15 (1.33%) Spanish Language
18 13 (1.15%) Back Office
Job Titles
1 180 (15.92%) Architect
2 154 (13.62%) Analyst
3 136 (12.02%) Senior
4 109 (9.64%) Project Manager
5 87 (7.69%) Solutions Architect
6 86 (7.60%) Lead
7 84 (7.43%) Business Analyst
8 58 (5.13%) Senior Manager
9 41 (3.63%) Designer
9 41 (3.63%) Technical Manager
10 40 (3.54%) Developer
11 35 (3.09%) Enterprise Architect
11 35 (3.09%) Product Manager
12 34 (3.01%) Consultant
12 34 (3.01%) Senior Project Manager
13 27 (2.39%) 2nd Line Support
14 26 (2.30%) Data Engineer
15 24 (2.12%) Data Architect
15 24 (2.12%) Programme Manager
16 20 (1.77%) Technical Support
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 36 (3.18%) REST
2 28 (2.48%) Middleware
2 28 (2.48%) React
3 26 (2.30%) VML
4 25 (2.21%) Spring
5 19 (1.68%) Spring Boot
6 18 (1.59%) Node.js
7 16 (1.41%) Kafka
8 15 (1.33%) CSS
8 15 (1.33%) HTML
9 14 (1.24%) AngularJS
10 13 (1.15%) RESTful
11 11 (0.97%) MACH
12 10 (0.88%) .NET
12 10 (0.88%) J2EE
12 10 (0.88%) OAuth
13 8 (0.71%) Django
13 8 (0.71%) OAuth2
13 8 (0.71%) OpenID
13 8 (0.71%) OpenTelemetry
Miscellaneous
1 72 (6.37%) Product Ownership
2 41 (3.63%) FMCG
3 37 (3.27%) EPoS
4 34 (3.01%) Cloud Native
5 32 (2.83%) Onboarding
6 30 (2.65%) Driving Licence
7 21 (1.86%) Data Structures
8 20 (1.77%) Data Centre
9 18 (1.59%) Legacy Systems
9 18 (1.59%) Self-Motivation
10 16 (1.41%) Mobile App
11 14 (1.24%) Mainframe
12 13 (1.15%) Management Information System
12 13 (1.15%) Marketing Technology
13 12 (1.06%) Greenfield Project
14 11 (0.97%) AI Agents
14 11 (0.97%) Operational Technology
14 11 (0.97%) Smartphone
15 10 (0.88%) Virtual Team
16 9 (0.80%) CCTV
Operating Systems
1 51 (4.51%) Windows
2 23 (2.03%) Linux
3 11 (0.97%) Android
4 7 (0.62%) Unix
5 6 (0.53%) Mac OS
6 5 (0.44%) Windows Server
7 4 (0.35%) Apple iOS
7 4 (0.35%) zOS
8 3 (0.27%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 3 (0.27%) Ubuntu
8 3 (0.27%) Windows 10
9 1 (0.088%) Debian
9 1 (0.088%) SUSE
9 1 (0.088%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
9 1 (0.088%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 257 (22.72%) Stakeholder Management
2 249 (22.02%) Agile
3 172 (15.21%) Problem-Solving
4 165 (14.59%) E-Commerce
5 146 (12.91%) Migration
6 138 (12.20%) Roadmaps
7 118 (10.43%) Analytics
8 111 (9.81%) Customer Experience
9 107 (9.46%) Project Management
10 95 (8.40%) AI
11 91 (8.05%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 87 (7.69%) ERP
13 81 (7.16%) Continuous Improvement
14 80 (7.07%) Change Management
14 80 (7.07%) Project Delivery
14 80 (7.07%) Scrum
15 79 (6.98%) Workshop Facilitation
16 78 (6.90%) Decision-Making
16 78 (6.90%) User Acceptance Testing
17 76 (6.72%) Business Intelligence
Programming Languages
1 81 (7.16%) SQL
2 68 (6.01%) Python
3 45 (3.98%) Java
4 24 (2.12%) JavaScript
5 16 (1.41%) TypeScript
6 10 (0.88%) Shell Script
7 9 (0.80%) C#
7 9 (0.80%) PowerShell
8 5 (0.44%) Bash
8 5 (0.44%) Bicep
8 5 (0.44%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 5 (0.44%) SOQL
9 4 (0.35%) Kotlin
9 4 (0.35%) PL/SQL
9 4 (0.35%) Scala
10 3 (0.27%) Apex Code
10 3 (0.27%) Groovy
10 3 (0.27%) R
10 3 (0.27%) SOSL
10 3 (0.27%) VBA
Qualifications
1 53 (4.69%) Degree
2 39 (3.45%) Security Cleared
3 27 (2.39%) SC Cleared
4 18 (1.59%) PMP
5 10 (0.88%) DBS Check
5 10 (0.88%) PMI Certification
6 9 (0.80%) Computer Science Degree
7 7 (0.62%) APMP
7 7 (0.62%) BPSS Clearance
7 7 (0.62%) CISSP
7 7 (0.62%) Master's Degree
8 5 (0.44%) CCNP
8 5 (0.44%) CCSE
8 5 (0.44%) CCSM
8 5 (0.44%) Cisco Certification
8 5 (0.44%) CISM
8 5 (0.44%) CSPO
8 5 (0.44%) MBA
9 4 (0.35%) City & Guilds
9 4 (0.35%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 48 (4.24%) QA
2 40 (3.54%) Data Quality
3 34 (3.01%) GDPR
4 31 (2.74%) PMO
5 17 (1.50%) Accessibility
6 15 (1.33%) PCI DSS
7 10 (0.88%) SLA
8 8 (0.71%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 6 (0.53%) NIST
10 3 (0.27%) PSD2
11 2 (0.18%) Actionable Recommendations
11 2 (0.18%) California Consumer Privacy Act
11 2 (0.18%) GAAP
11 2 (0.18%) GRC
11 2 (0.18%) IFRS
11 2 (0.18%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 2 (0.18%) WCAG
12 1 (0.088%) COBIT
12 1 (0.088%) GxP
12 1 (0.088%) ISO 8583
System Software
1 26 (2.30%) Docker
2 22 (1.95%) Active Directory
3 6 (0.53%) Virtual Desktop
3 6 (0.53%) Virtual Machines
3 6 (0.53%) VMware Infrastructure
4 5 (0.44%) VMware ESXi
5 2 (0.18%) VMware NSX
6 1 (0.088%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 32 (2.83%) Terraform
2 23 (2.03%) Kubernetes
3 13 (1.15%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
4 6 (0.53%) Argo
4 6 (0.53%) Istio
4 6 (0.53%) Microsoft Intune
5 5 (0.44%) Ansible
5 5 (0.44%) SCCM
6 4 (0.35%) Single Sign-On
7 3 (0.27%) FortiGate
7 3 (0.27%) Grafana
8 2 (0.18%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 2 (0.18%) CA Single Sign-On
8 2 (0.18%) MOM
8 2 (0.18%) PingFederate
9 1 (0.088%) CSIRT
9 1 (0.088%) vCenter Server
Vendors
1 96 (8.49%) Microsoft
2 77 (6.81%) SAP
3 69 (6.10%) Oracle
4 56 (4.95%) Google
5 49 (4.33%) Salesforce
6 39 (3.45%) Databricks
7 34 (3.01%) Adobe
8 21 (1.86%) ServiceNow
9 14 (1.24%) IFS
9 14 (1.24%) Sitecore
10 12 (1.06%) Cisco
10 12 (1.06%) Zscaler
11 10 (0.88%) Fortinet
11 10 (0.88%) Palo Alto
11 10 (0.88%) VMware
12 9 (0.80%) Splunk
13 8 (0.71%) MuleSoft
14 7 (0.62%) Apple
14 7 (0.62%) IBM
15 6 (0.53%) CheckPoint