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 9 December 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
9 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 142 90 108
Rank change year-on-year -52 +18 -36
Contract jobs citing Retail 739 919 1,026
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.04% 2.57% 2.26%
As % of the General category 3.29% 4.27% 3.79%
Number of daily rates quoted 428 489 584
10th Percentile £206 £263 £285
25th Percentile £400 £410 £415
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £638 £638
90th Percentile £735 £753 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £498 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -0.50% - -1.96%
Number of hourly rates quoted 55 10 31
10th Percentile £14.50 £16.05 £15.33
25th Percentile £15.37 £18.13 £18.78
Median hourly rate £16.34 £32.50 £19.81
Median % change year-on-year -49.74% +64.06% -
75th Percentile £19.50 £37.88 £20.94
90th Percentile £25.15 £49.38 £29.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £16.34 £18.13 £19.81
% change year-on-year -9.90% -8.48% -

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 common skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for common skills 22,488 21,514 27,076
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 61.98% 60.24% 59.54%
Number of daily rates quoted 14,113 12,801 17,952
10th Percentile £275 £291 £281
25th Percentile £400 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -4.55% -
75th Percentile £625 £650 £650
90th Percentile £738 £756 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £488 £500
% change year-on-year -2.56% -2.50% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,446 778 1,129
10th Percentile £13.80 £15.21 £14.25
25th Percentile £16.51 £18.00 £16.84
Median hourly rate £23.83 £27.50 £31.71
Median % change year-on-year -13.36% -13.28% +26.84%
75th Percentile £45.46 £53.75 £58.75
90th Percentile £70.00 £70.25 £70.53
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.00 £26.13 £28.96
% change year-on-year -15.79% -9.79% +31.64%

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 9 December 2025.

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 9 December 2025.

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 9 December 2025. 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 -42 678 £500 -5.88% 833
London -30 362 £525 -6.67% 243
UK excluding London -34 318 £498 -0.50% 724
Work from Home -66 186 £539 +2.71% 358
South East -17 96 £525 -4.55% 245
North of England -52 72 £500 +8.11% 179
Midlands -48 54 £438 -12.50% 124
East of England -7 44 £595 +8.18% 79
East Midlands -7 35 £438 -12.50% 55
Yorkshire -39 35 £525 +16.67% 68
North West -25 32 £500 +9.59% 93
South West -2 28 £185 -54.77% 57
Scotland +2 19 £500 -2.44% 43
West Midlands -50 18 £450 -16.28% 66
North East -2 6 £206 -65.63% 19
Wales +3 4 £625 +331.03% 15
Northern Ireland -6 1 - - 2

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 29 (3.92%) Confluence
2 18 (2.44%) CMS
3 14 (1.89%) SharePoint
4 7 (0.95%) Apache Airflow
5 6 (0.81%) Camunda
6 5 (0.68%) Adobe Experience Manager
6 5 (0.68%) Jupyter
6 5 (0.68%) Microsoft Exchange
7 4 (0.54%) WordPress
8 2 (0.27%) Apache Spark
8 2 (0.27%) Magnolia
9 1 (0.14%) Appian
9 1 (0.14%) SAS
9 1 (0.14%) SharePoint Server
9 1 (0.14%) WebLogic
9 1 (0.14%) WebSphere
9 1 (0.14%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 27 (3.65%) Microsoft Excel
2 14 (1.89%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 12 (1.62%) Microsoft Office
4 6 (0.81%) Chatbot
5 3 (0.41%) Microsoft Project
5 3 (0.41%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.41%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.14%) Trello
6 1 (0.14%) UserZoom
Business Applications
1 29 (3.92%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.76%) Shopify
3 10 (1.35%) Oracle Retail
4 8 (1.08%) Dynamics CRM
4 8 (1.08%) SAP Retail
5 6 (0.81%) Dynamics AX
5 6 (0.81%) Payment Gateway
6 5 (0.68%) SAP Payroll
7 4 (0.54%) ResourceLink
7 4 (0.54%) Temenos T24
8 3 (0.41%) Magento
8 3 (0.41%) NetSuite
8 3 (0.41%) Oracle Payables
8 3 (0.41%) Salesforce CRM
8 3 (0.41%) SAP GTS
8 3 (0.41%) SAP MM
9 2 (0.27%) BambooHR
9 2 (0.27%) SAP Oil and Gas
9 2 (0.27%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
9 2 (0.27%) Sprinklr
Cloud Services
1 87 (11.77%) Azure
2 49 (6.63%) Power Platform
3 48 (6.50%) AWS
4 29 (3.92%) GCP
5 23 (3.11%) Azure DevOps
5 23 (3.11%) Dynamics 365
6 17 (2.30%) SaaS
7 15 (2.03%) Microsoft 365
8 12 (1.62%) Power Automate
9 11 (1.49%) OCI
9 11 (1.49%) Salesforce Commerce Cloud
10 10 (1.35%) Entra ID
10 10 (1.35%) Snowflake
10 10 (1.35%) SuccessFactors
11 9 (1.22%) Figma
11 9 (1.22%) Vertex AI
12 8 (1.08%) Serverless
13 7 (0.95%) GitHub
14 6 (0.81%) Microsoft Copilot
14 6 (0.81%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 19 (2.57%) RFID
1 19 (2.57%) Wireless
2 18 (2.44%) NFC
3 13 (1.76%) Firewall
4 11 (1.49%) VPN
5 8 (1.08%) Wi-Fi
6 7 (0.95%) WAN
7 6 (0.81%) LAN
8 4 (0.54%) Cisco Nexus
9 3 (0.41%) BGP
9 3 (0.41%) Broadband
9 3 (0.41%) DNS
9 3 (0.41%) EIGRP
9 3 (0.41%) OSPF
9 3 (0.41%) VoIP
10 2 (0.27%) MPLS
10 2 (0.27%) Network Security
10 2 (0.27%) SAN
10 2 (0.27%) TCP/IP
10 2 (0.27%) WLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 41 (5.55%) Power BI
2 14 (1.89%) Data Warehouse
2 14 (1.89%) Metadata
3 12 (1.62%) BigQuery
3 12 (1.62%) SQL Server
3 12 (1.62%) Tableau
4 6 (0.81%) Data Lake
5 5 (0.68%) Power Query
5 5 (0.68%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 4 (0.54%) MongoDB
6 4 (0.54%) Redis
6 4 (0.54%) Relational Database
7 3 (0.41%) Big Data
7 3 (0.41%) Data Vault
7 3 (0.41%) Oracle Reports
7 3 (0.41%) SAP BW
7 3 (0.41%) Snowflake Schema
7 3 (0.41%) Star Schema
8 2 (0.27%) Delta Lake
8 2 (0.27%) Oracle Database
Development Applications
1 52 (7.04%) JIRA
2 15 (2.03%) Git
3 10 (1.35%) Jenkins
4 4 (0.54%) Selenium
4 4 (0.54%) Storybook
5 3 (0.41%) Postman
6 2 (0.27%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 2 (0.27%) ERwin
6 2 (0.27%) JUnit
6 2 (0.27%) MLflow
6 2 (0.27%) PowerDesigner
6 2 (0.27%) SoapUI
6 2 (0.27%) Xcode
7 1 (0.14%) Gradle
7 1 (0.14%) JMeter
7 1 (0.14%) LoadRunner
7 1 (0.14%) Maven
7 1 (0.14%) Oracle Forms
7 1 (0.14%) Subversion
7 1 (0.14%) Visual Studio
General
1 268 (36.27%) Social Skills
2 161 (21.79%) Finance
3 79 (10.69%) Analytical Skills
4 69 (9.34%) Banking
5 54 (7.31%) Marketing
6 44 (5.95%) Public Sector
7 42 (5.68%) Manufacturing
8 38 (5.14%) Retail Banking
9 35 (4.74%) Organisational Skills
10 32 (4.33%) Investment Banking
11 31 (4.19%) Corporate Banking
12 28 (3.79%) Legal
13 20 (2.71%) Documentation Skills
13 20 (2.71%) Influencing Skills
14 17 (2.30%) Presentation Skills
15 16 (2.17%) Inclusion and Diversity
16 11 (1.49%) Telecoms
17 9 (1.22%) Automotive
18 8 (1.08%) Financial Institution
18 8 (1.08%) French Language
Job Titles
1 141 (19.08%) Analyst
2 81 (10.96%) Architect
3 80 (10.83%) Project Manager
4 60 (8.12%) Business Analyst
5 59 (7.98%) Senior
6 53 (7.17%) Lead
7 37 (5.01%) Solutions Architect
8 33 (4.47%) Consultant
9 25 (3.38%) Senior Manager
10 24 (3.25%) Developer
11 20 (2.71%) Programme Manager
12 19 (2.57%) Administrator
12 19 (2.57%) Product Manager
13 15 (2.03%) Data Analyst
14 14 (1.89%) SAP Consultant
15 13 (1.76%) Senior Analyst
15 13 (1.76%) Support Analyst
16 12 (1.62%) Enterprise Architect
16 12 (1.62%) Field Engineer
16 12 (1.62%) Help Desk Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (2.84%) React
2 18 (2.44%) REST
3 14 (1.89%) Node.js
4 13 (1.76%) HTML
5 11 (1.49%) PySpark
5 11 (1.49%) VML
6 10 (1.35%) .NET
7 8 (1.08%) CSS
7 8 (1.08%) Oracle Fusion
8 7 (0.95%) React Native
8 7 (0.95%) RESTful
8 7 (0.95%) scikit-learn
9 6 (0.81%) FastAPI
9 6 (0.81%) Kafka
9 6 (0.81%) XML
10 5 (0.68%) CSS3
10 5 (0.68%) EDI
10 5 (0.68%) HTML5
10 5 (0.68%) Matplotlib
10 5 (0.68%) NumPy
Miscellaneous
1 38 (5.14%) Product Ownership
2 31 (4.19%) Legacy Systems
3 23 (3.11%) IoT
3 23 (3.11%) Self-Motivation
4 22 (2.98%) EPoS
4 22 (2.98%) Onboarding
5 19 (2.57%) Mobile App
6 18 (2.44%) FMCG
7 12 (1.62%) Analytical Mindset
7 12 (1.62%) Management Information System
8 11 (1.49%) Cloud Native
8 11 (1.49%) Data Centre
9 10 (1.35%) Driving Licence
10 9 (1.22%) Algorithms
10 9 (1.22%) Greenfield Project
11 8 (1.08%) Data Structures
12 7 (0.95%) Hybrid Cloud
13 6 (0.81%) Enterprise Software
13 6 (0.81%) Replication
13 6 (0.81%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 43 (5.82%) Windows
2 7 (0.95%) Linux
2 7 (0.95%) Mac OS
3 6 (0.81%) Apple iOS
4 3 (0.41%) Android
4 3 (0.41%) Windows Server
5 2 (0.27%) Windows 10
6 1 (0.14%) Kali Linux
6 1 (0.14%) Mac OS X
6 1 (0.14%) VMS
6 1 (0.14%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 173 (23.41%) Stakeholder Management
2 168 (22.73%) Agile
3 105 (14.21%) Problem-Solving
4 82 (11.10%) E-Commerce
5 79 (10.69%) Project Management
6 74 (10.01%) Analytics
7 68 (9.20%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 63 (8.53%) Migration
9 62 (8.39%) Continuous Improvement
10 60 (8.12%) Roadmaps
11 55 (7.44%) CRM
11 55 (7.44%) Customer Experience
12 52 (7.04%) AI
13 51 (6.90%) DevOps
14 50 (6.77%) Workshop Facilitation
15 49 (6.63%) Business Intelligence
16 46 (6.22%) Decision-Making
16 46 (6.22%) Logistics
17 45 (6.09%) ERP
18 44 (5.95%) Data Modelling
Programming Languages
1 69 (9.34%) Python
2 59 (7.98%) SQL
3 19 (2.57%) JavaScript
4 14 (1.89%) Java
5 12 (1.62%) PowerShell
6 11 (1.49%) Bash
6 11 (1.49%) TypeScript
7 8 (1.08%) C#
8 7 (0.95%) Kusto Query Language
9 4 (0.54%) PL/SQL
10 3 (0.41%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 3 (0.41%) X++
11 2 (0.27%) ABAP
11 2 (0.27%) Go
11 2 (0.27%) PHP
11 2 (0.27%) R
11 2 (0.27%) Swift
11 2 (0.27%) VBA
12 1 (0.14%) REXX
12 1 (0.14%) Scala
Qualifications
1 36 (4.87%) Degree
2 20 (2.71%) PMP
3 17 (2.30%) PMI Certification
4 13 (1.76%) Security Cleared
5 10 (1.35%) Computer Science Degree
6 7 (0.95%) Master's Degree
7 5 (0.68%) CISSP
7 5 (0.68%) ITIL Certification
7 5 (0.68%) Microsoft Certification
8 4 (0.54%) Cisco Certification
9 3 (0.41%) ACCA
9 3 (0.41%) CCIE
9 3 (0.41%) CCNP
9 3 (0.41%) CISM
9 3 (0.41%) CRISC
9 3 (0.41%) CSPO
9 3 (0.41%) GIAC
10 2 (0.27%) BPSS Clearance
10 2 (0.27%) SC Cleared
10 2 (0.27%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (3.52%) QA
2 20 (2.71%) GDPR
3 19 (2.57%) Data Quality
4 15 (2.03%) SLA
5 10 (1.35%) Accessibility
6 6 (0.81%) COBIT
6 6 (0.81%) PMO
7 5 (0.68%) Actionable Recommendations
8 3 (0.41%) IFRS
8 3 (0.41%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 3 (0.41%) NCSC
8 3 (0.41%) PCI DSS
8 3 (0.41%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 2 (0.27%) MiFID
9 2 (0.27%) NIST
10 1 (0.14%) Cyber Essentials
10 1 (0.14%) FATCA
10 1 (0.14%) IFRS 9
10 1 (0.14%) SEPA
10 1 (0.14%) Solvency II
System Software
1 13 (1.76%) Active Directory
2 11 (1.49%) Docker
3 3 (0.41%) Virtual Desktop
3 3 (0.41%) VMware NSX
4 2 (0.27%) RACF
5 1 (0.14%) Varnish
5 1 (0.14%) VMware ESXi
5 1 (0.14%) VMware Infrastructure
5 1 (0.14%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 22 (2.98%) Terraform
2 12 (1.62%) Kubernetes
3 10 (1.35%) Ansible
4 5 (0.68%) Grafana
4 5 (0.68%) Microsoft Intune
5 4 (0.54%) Jamf Pro
5 4 (0.54%) Single Sign-On
6 3 (0.41%) Prometheus
6 3 (0.41%) SCCM
7 1 (0.14%) AirWatch
7 1 (0.14%) Cacti
7 1 (0.14%) Control-M
7 1 (0.14%) HP ALM
7 1 (0.14%) Nmap
7 1 (0.14%) vCenter Server
7 1 (0.14%) ZABBIX
7 1 (0.14%) zSecure
Vendors
1 84 (11.37%) Microsoft
2 68 (9.20%) SAP
3 45 (6.09%) Oracle
4 44 (5.95%) Salesforce
5 22 (2.98%) Google
6 16 (2.17%) Adobe
6 16 (2.17%) HP
7 15 (2.03%) Databricks
8 10 (1.35%) Dell
9 9 (1.22%) CheckPoint
9 9 (1.22%) F5
10 8 (1.08%) ServiceNow
11 7 (0.95%) Cisco
11 7 (0.95%) Dynatrace
11 7 (0.95%) Workday
12 6 (0.81%) Apple
12 6 (0.81%) Sitecore
12 6 (0.81%) Splunk
13 5 (0.68%) VMware
13 5 (0.68%) Zscaler