Retail Contract Job Trends

Retailing
UK

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Retail in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Retail over the 6 months leading up to 25 August 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
25 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 86 123 87
Rank change year-on-year +37 -36 +13
Contract jobs citing Retail 1,598 749 955
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.98% 2.29% 2.46%
As % of the General category 5.42% 3.61% 4.28%
Number of daily rates quoted 927 393 530
10th Percentile £317 £281 £300
25th Percentile £456 £400 £411
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £513 £505
Median % change year-on-year +7.32% +1.49% -3.81%
75th Percentile £658 £630 £625
90th Percentile £738 £725 £713
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £500 £500
% change year-on-year +5.00% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 118 50 53
10th Percentile £12.76 £14.50 £12.15
25th Percentile £13.51 £15.25 £12.50
Median hourly rate £16.92 £16.30 £16.30
Median % change year-on-year +3.80% - -17.72%
75th Percentile £22.50 £25.15 £21.37
90th Percentile £43.75 £33.28 £23.69
UK excluding London median hourly rate £14.04 £16.30 £16.00
% change year-on-year -13.88% +1.88% -19.23%

All General Skills
UK

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.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 29,490 20,770 22,288
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 54.97% 63.45% 57.38%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,431 12,916 13,846
10th Percentile £313 £275 £288
25th Percentile £415 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £625 £650
90th Percentile £738 £749 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £495
% change year-on-year +5.26% -4.04% -1.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,285 1,168 1,267
10th Percentile £13.89 £13.43 £14.06
25th Percentile £17.11 £16.17 £16.70
Median hourly rate £31.50 £25.15 £35.36
Median % change year-on-year +25.25% -28.87% +28.58%
75th Percentile £56.21 £50.00 £59.98
90th Percentile £78.75 £70.00 £70.31
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.00 £22.14 £35.00
% change year-on-year +44.53% -36.74% +34.74%

Retail
Job Vacancy Trend

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

Retail job vacancy trend in the UK

Retail
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Retail.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Retail

Retail
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Retail over the 6 months to 25 August 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Retail in the UK

Retail
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Retail.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Retail

Retail
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Retail over the 6 months to 25 August 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Retail in the UK

Retail
Top 17 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Retail within the UK over the 6 months to 25 August 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
England +34 1,465 £550 +6.02% 2,024
London +48 833 £568 +3.18% 981
UK excluding London +13 649 £525 +5.00% 1,194
Work from Home +2 350 £525 +5.00% 744
North of England -18 190 £550 +10.00% 371
South East +10 175 £525 -4.55% 248
Midlands +16 139 £513 +19.05% 249
North West +8 118 £550 +10.00% 202
East Midlands +16 78 £500 +14.68% 136
East of England +12 70 £575 +9.52% 116
West Midlands -5 60 £575 +35.29% 113
Yorkshire -38 55 £500 - 147
South West -32 45 £400 +17.65% 110
Scotland +1 24 £301 -42.63% 86
North East -28 17 £525 +18.64% 25
Wales -12 4 - - 31
Northern Ireland +3 3 £203 -63.18% 14

Retail
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities 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 51 (3.19%) Confluence
2 19 (1.19%) CMS
3 11 (0.69%) Adobe Experience Manager
4 10 (0.63%) Apache Airflow
5 9 (0.56%) SharePoint
6 6 (0.38%) SAS
7 4 (0.25%) WebSphere
8 3 (0.19%) Anypoint
9 2 (0.13%) Apache Spark
9 2 (0.13%) CICS
9 2 (0.13%) Mule
10 1 (0.063%) Apache
10 1 (0.063%) Mendix
10 1 (0.063%) Microsoft Exchange
10 1 (0.063%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 56 (3.50%) Microsoft Excel
2 40 (2.50%) Microsoft Office
3 21 (1.31%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 16 (1.00%) Adobe Creative Suite
5 14 (0.88%) Microsoft Project
6 9 (0.56%) Photoshop
7 8 (0.50%) Adobe Illustrator
7 8 (0.50%) MS Visio
7 8 (0.50%) Spreadsheet
8 6 (0.38%) Chatbot
8 6 (0.38%) InDesign
9 4 (0.25%) CPLEX
9 4 (0.25%) Notion
10 1 (0.063%) PlantUML
10 1 (0.063%) UserZoom
Business Applications
1 50 (3.13%) SAP S/4HANA
2 28 (1.75%) Shopify
3 14 (0.88%) SAP Retail
4 11 (0.69%) Dynamics CRM
5 10 (0.63%) SAP CRM
6 9 (0.56%) Oracle Retail
7 8 (0.50%) Magento
8 6 (0.38%) Salesforce CRM
9 5 (0.31%) NetSuite
9 5 (0.31%) Oracle EBS
9 5 (0.31%) Payment Gateway
9 5 (0.31%) SAP MDG
10 4 (0.25%) SAP SD
11 3 (0.19%) OpenText VIM for SAP
11 3 (0.19%) Oracle Payables
11 3 (0.19%) Oracle Receivables
11 3 (0.19%) SAP IBP
11 3 (0.19%) SAP MM
11 3 (0.19%) Workday HCM
12 2 (0.13%) SAP Forecasting and Replenishment
Cloud Services
1 193 (12.08%) Azure
2 143 (8.95%) AWS
3 79 (4.94%) Power Platform
4 71 (4.44%) GCP
5 54 (3.38%) Snowflake
6 39 (2.44%) GitHub
7 33 (2.07%) Entra ID
8 31 (1.94%) Azure DevOps
9 26 (1.63%) Dynamics 365
10 24 (1.50%) GitHub Actions
11 23 (1.44%) Salesforce Commerce Cloud
12 20 (1.25%) Figma
12 20 (1.25%) SaaS
13 17 (1.06%) Azure Data Factory
14 16 (1.00%) Azure Synapse Analytics
14 16 (1.00%) Microsoft 365
15 13 (0.81%) dbt
16 12 (0.75%) OCI
17 11 (0.69%) Salesforce Service Cloud
18 10 (0.63%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 22 (1.38%) WAN
2 20 (1.25%) Firewall
3 17 (1.06%) VPN
4 16 (1.00%) ATM
4 16 (1.00%) Wireless
5 14 (0.88%) LAN
5 14 (0.88%) Network Security
6 10 (0.63%) Wi-Fi
7 8 (0.50%) BGP
7 8 (0.50%) IPsec
7 8 (0.50%) OSPF
8 7 (0.44%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
8 7 (0.44%) SD-WAN
8 7 (0.44%) Structured Cabling
8 7 (0.44%) VLAN
9 6 (0.38%) Cisco Firepower
9 6 (0.38%) VSAN
10 5 (0.31%) Cisco ASA
10 5 (0.31%) Cisco Nexus
10 5 (0.31%) Internet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 79 (4.94%) Power BI
2 40 (2.50%) Data Warehouse
3 32 (2.00%) BigQuery
4 24 (1.50%) Data Lake
5 23 (1.44%) Metadata
6 20 (1.25%) NoSQL
7 19 (1.19%) MongoDB
8 17 (1.06%) SQL Server
8 17 (1.06%) Tableau
9 13 (0.81%) MySQL
10 12 (0.75%) Amazon Redshift
10 12 (0.75%) Power Query
10 12 (0.75%) Relational Database
11 11 (0.69%) PostgreSQL
12 10 (0.63%) Redis
12 10 (0.63%) SQL Server Integration Services
13 8 (0.50%) Couchbase
14 7 (0.44%) SAP HANA
14 7 (0.44%) SQL Server Reporting Services
14 7 (0.44%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 80 (5.01%) JIRA
2 27 (1.69%) Git
3 19 (1.19%) Jenkins
4 8 (0.50%) Subversion
5 7 (0.44%) Claude Code
6 5 (0.31%) Cypress.io
6 5 (0.31%) GitLab
6 5 (0.31%) JMeter
7 4 (0.25%) Eclipse
7 4 (0.25%) Hudson
8 3 (0.19%) Selenium
9 2 (0.13%) git-flow
9 2 (0.13%) Maven
9 2 (0.13%) MLflow
9 2 (0.13%) Oracle Forms
9 2 (0.13%) Postman
9 2 (0.13%) Terragrunt
9 2 (0.13%) Visual Studio
9 2 (0.13%) webpack
10 1 (0.063%) WebDriver
General
1 440 (27.53%) Social Skills
2 382 (23.90%) Finance
3 169 (10.58%) Analytical Skills
4 130 (8.14%) Banking
5 106 (6.63%) Marketing
6 101 (6.32%) Manufacturing
7 67 (4.19%) Retail Banking
8 64 (4.01%) Organisational Skills
9 46 (2.88%) Investment Banking
10 44 (2.75%) Corporate Banking
11 38 (2.38%) Public Sector
12 32 (2.00%) Influencing Skills
13 30 (1.88%) Telecoms
14 29 (1.81%) Legal
15 27 (1.69%) Advertising
16 25 (1.56%) Presentation Skills
17 23 (1.44%) French Language
18 20 (1.25%) Documentation Skills
19 18 (1.13%) Spanish Language
20 17 (1.06%) Back Office
Job Titles
1 261 (16.33%) Architect
2 238 (14.89%) Analyst
3 177 (11.08%) Senior
4 143 (8.95%) Solutions Architect
5 137 (8.57%) Business Analyst
6 124 (7.76%) Project Manager
7 114 (7.13%) Lead
8 86 (5.38%) Developer
9 54 (3.38%) Consultant
10 49 (3.07%) Product Manager
11 46 (2.88%) Data Analyst
11 46 (2.88%) Designer
12 45 (2.82%) Senior Manager
13 40 (2.50%) Supply Chain Architect
14 39 (2.44%) Service Manager
15 37 (2.32%) Data Architect
15 37 (2.32%) Enterprise Architect
15 37 (2.32%) Senior Developer
16 34 (2.13%) Programme Manager
16 34 (2.13%) Transition Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 67 (4.19%) REST
2 51 (3.19%) Terraform
3 41 (2.57%) React
4 35 (2.19%) Kafka
5 29 (1.81%) Node.js
5 29 (1.81%) Spring
6 28 (1.75%) Middleware
7 23 (1.44%) Spring Boot
8 21 (1.31%) VML
9 20 (1.25%) Django
9 20 (1.25%) RESTful
10 19 (1.19%) MACH
10 19 (1.19%) SOAP
11 15 (0.94%) HTML
12 14 (0.88%) Next.js
12 14 (0.88%) OAuth
13 12 (0.75%) CSS
14 11 (0.69%) Jakarta EE
14 11 (0.69%) Lightning Web Components
15 10 (0.63%) SAP Fiori
Miscellaneous
1 87 (5.44%) Product Ownership
2 69 (4.32%) FMCG
3 58 (3.63%) EPoS
4 57 (3.57%) Onboarding
5 47 (2.94%) Cloud Native
6 34 (2.13%) Legacy Systems
7 31 (1.94%) Data Centre
7 31 (1.94%) Driving Licence
8 27 (1.69%) Mobile App
9 25 (1.56%) Greenfield Project
10 23 (1.44%) Data Structures
10 23 (1.44%) Marketing Technology
11 22 (1.38%) Mainframe
12 21 (1.31%) Operational Technology
13 19 (1.19%) Management Information System
13 19 (1.19%) Self-Motivation
13 19 (1.19%) Smartphone
14 18 (1.13%) AI Agents
15 16 (1.00%) Distributed Systems
16 15 (0.94%) IoT
Operating Systems
1 56 (3.50%) Windows
2 21 (1.31%) Linux
3 11 (0.69%) Android
4 10 (0.63%) Unix
5 8 (0.50%) Apple iOS
6 7 (0.44%) Mac OS
7 6 (0.38%) Ubuntu
8 5 (0.31%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 5 (0.31%) Windows 10
8 5 (0.31%) Windows Server
9 4 (0.25%) zOS
10 2 (0.13%) Debian
11 1 (0.063%) SUSE
11 1 (0.063%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
11 1 (0.063%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 402 (25.16%) Stakeholder Management
2 378 (23.65%) Agile
3 238 (14.89%) E-Commerce
4 200 (12.52%) Problem-Solving
5 192 (12.02%) Migration
6 182 (11.39%) Analytics
7 173 (10.83%) Roadmaps
8 171 (10.70%) Logistics
9 169 (10.58%) AI
10 142 (8.89%) Customer Experience
11 140 (8.76%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 130 (8.14%) Decision-Making
13 129 (8.07%) Continuous Improvement
14 121 (7.57%) CI/CD
15 118 (7.38%) Project Management
16 115 (7.20%) CRM
17 112 (7.01%) Business Intelligence
18 109 (6.82%) User Acceptance Testing
19 107 (6.70%) DevOps
19 107 (6.70%) ERP
Programming Languages
1 143 (8.95%) SQL
2 105 (6.57%) Python
3 53 (3.32%) Java
4 34 (2.13%) TypeScript
5 29 (1.81%) JavaScript
6 12 (0.75%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 11 (0.69%) R
8 10 (0.63%) Apex Code
8 10 (0.63%) C#
8 10 (0.63%) SOQL
9 9 (0.56%) ABAP
9 9 (0.56%) PowerShell
10 8 (0.50%) Bash
10 8 (0.50%) SOSL
11 6 (0.38%) PL/SQL
11 6 (0.38%) Scala
12 5 (0.31%) Bicep
12 5 (0.31%) Groovy
13 4 (0.25%) Shell Script
14 3 (0.19%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 63 (3.94%) Degree
2 45 (2.82%) Security Cleared
3 22 (1.38%) PMP
3 22 (1.38%) SC Cleared
4 13 (0.81%) DBS Check
5 12 (0.75%) PMI Certification
6 9 (0.56%) BPSS Clearance
7 7 (0.44%) ITIL Certification
8 6 (0.38%) Cisco Certification
8 6 (0.38%) CISSP
9 5 (0.31%) CCNP
9 5 (0.31%) CCSE
9 5 (0.31%) CCSM
9 5 (0.31%) CISM
9 5 (0.31%) Computer Science Degree
9 5 (0.31%) CSPO
9 5 (0.31%) Six Sigma Green Belt
10 4 (0.25%) City & Guilds
11 3 (0.19%) Azure Certification
11 3 (0.19%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 78 (4.88%) Data Quality
1 78 (4.88%) QA
2 40 (2.50%) GDPR
3 26 (1.63%) PMO
4 23 (1.44%) Accessibility
5 14 (0.88%) PCI DSS
5 14 (0.88%) SLA
6 8 (0.50%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 6 (0.38%) NIST
8 5 (0.31%) WCAG
9 3 (0.19%) Actionable Recommendations
9 3 (0.19%) California Consumer Privacy Act
9 3 (0.19%) GAAP
9 3 (0.19%) GRC
9 3 (0.19%) IFRS
9 3 (0.19%) PSD2
9 3 (0.19%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 2 (0.13%) ISO 8583
11 1 (0.063%) GxP
11 1 (0.063%) HL7
System Software
1 36 (2.25%) Docker
2 32 (2.00%) Active Directory
3 13 (0.81%) Virtual Desktop
4 8 (0.50%) VMware Infrastructure
5 6 (0.38%) Virtual Machines
6 5 (0.31%) Firmware
6 5 (0.31%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.19%) VMware NSX
8 1 (0.063%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 40 (2.50%) Kubernetes
2 11 (0.69%) Ansible
3 10 (0.63%) Single Sign-On
4 8 (0.50%) Microsoft Intune
5 7 (0.44%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
6 6 (0.38%) FortiGate
7 4 (0.25%) SCCM
8 3 (0.19%) Bosun
9 2 (0.13%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 2 (0.13%) AirWatch
9 2 (0.13%) CA Single Sign-On
9 2 (0.13%) CloudHub
9 2 (0.13%) Jamf Pro
9 2 (0.13%) logstash
9 2 (0.13%) MOM
9 2 (0.13%) PingFederate
9 2 (0.13%) vCenter Server
10 1 (0.063%) Kubeflow
10 1 (0.063%) Nagios
10 1 (0.063%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 142 (8.89%) Microsoft
2 124 (7.76%) SAP
3 81 (5.07%) Salesforce
4 78 (4.88%) Databricks
5 73 (4.57%) Oracle
6 45 (2.82%) Google
7 38 (2.38%) Adobe
8 25 (1.56%) Zscaler
9 20 (1.25%) MuleSoft
10 18 (1.13%) Workday
11 17 (1.06%) ServiceNow
12 16 (1.00%) Cisco
13 14 (0.88%) IBM
14 13 (0.81%) Fortinet
14 13 (0.81%) IFS
14 13 (0.81%) Palo Alto
14 13 (0.81%) VMware
15 12 (0.75%) Apple
16 11 (0.69%) Informatica
16 11 (0.69%) New Relic