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

6 months to
15 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 146 91 108
Rank change year-on-year -55 +17 -36
Contract jobs citing Retail 730 890 1,017
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.00% 2.60% 2.29%
As % of the General category 3.26% 4.27% 3.84%
Number of daily rates quoted 430 463 570
10th Percentile £206 £263 £276
25th Percentile £400 £406 £413
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 £750 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £500 £500
% change year-on-year - - -2.44%
Number of hourly rates quoted 52 10 30
10th Percentile £14.58 £16.05 £13.85
25th Percentile £15.48 £18.13 £18.50
Median hourly rate £16.34 £32.50 £19.81
Median % change year-on-year -49.74% +64.06% -
75th Percentile £19.50 £37.88 £21.12
90th Percentile £25.10 £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 22,394 20,846 26,494
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 61.45% 60.80% 59.68%
Number of daily rates quoted 14,014 12,434 17,495
10th Percentile £275 £290 £280
25th Percentile £400 £413 £423
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 £763 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £488 £500
% change year-on-year -2.56% -2.50% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,453 739 1,086
10th Percentile £13.80 £15.32 £14.25
25th Percentile £16.50 £18.13 £16.85
Median hourly rate £23.58 £27.50 £32.75
Median % change year-on-year -14.27% -16.03% +31.00%
75th Percentile £45.46 £53.75 £59.03
90th Percentile £70.00 £70.45 £71.28
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.00 £26.06 £30.00
% change year-on-year -15.59% -13.13% +38.12%

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 15 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 15 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 15 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 -46 671 £508 -3.19% 1,409
London -38 355 £538 -2.27% 352
UK excluding London -41 317 £500 - 1,204
Work from Home -61 186 £532 +1.29% 713
South East -9 98 £525 -4.55% 397
North of England -50 70 £500 +8.11% 282
Midlands -51 57 £450 -10.00% 214
East of England -13 44 £595 +10.70% 133
East Midlands -4 38 £450 -10.00% 98
Yorkshire -39 34 £513 +17.14% 107
North West -33 31 £500 +8.11% 140
South West +1 25 £183 -55.38% 113
Scotland -5 19 £500 -2.44% 59
West Midlands -54 18 £450 -15.29% 110
North East -9 6 £206 -65.63% 36
Wales -1 3 £625 +331.03% 21
Northern Ireland -7 1 - - 12

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 32 (4.38%) Confluence
2 18 (2.47%) CMS
2 18 (2.47%) SharePoint
3 7 (0.96%) Apache Airflow
4 5 (0.68%) Adobe Experience Manager
4 5 (0.68%) Camunda
4 5 (0.68%) Jupyter
4 5 (0.68%) Microsoft Exchange
5 4 (0.55%) WordPress
6 2 (0.27%) Apache Spark
6 2 (0.27%) Magnolia
7 1 (0.14%) Appian
7 1 (0.14%) SAS
7 1 (0.14%) SharePoint Server
7 1 (0.14%) WebLogic
7 1 (0.14%) WebSphere
7 1 (0.14%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 25 (3.42%) Microsoft Excel
2 14 (1.92%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 11 (1.51%) Microsoft Office
4 6 (0.82%) Microsoft Project
5 5 (0.68%) Chatbot
6 3 (0.41%) MS Visio
6 3 (0.41%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.14%) Trello
7 1 (0.14%) UserZoom
Business Applications
1 27 (3.70%) SAP S/4HANA
2 10 (1.37%) Oracle Retail
2 10 (1.37%) Shopify
3 8 (1.10%) Dynamics CRM
3 8 (1.10%) SAP Retail
4 6 (0.82%) Dynamics AX
4 6 (0.82%) Payment Gateway
5 5 (0.68%) SAP Payroll
6 4 (0.55%) ResourceLink
6 4 (0.55%) Temenos T24
7 3 (0.41%) Magento
7 3 (0.41%) NetSuite
7 3 (0.41%) Salesforce CRM
7 3 (0.41%) SAP GTS
7 3 (0.41%) SAP MM
8 2 (0.27%) BambooHR
8 2 (0.27%) FLEXCUBE
8 2 (0.27%) Oracle Payables
8 2 (0.27%) SAP Oil and Gas
8 2 (0.27%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
Cloud Services
1 91 (12.47%) Azure
2 49 (6.71%) AWS
2 49 (6.71%) Power Platform
3 28 (3.84%) GCP
4 24 (3.29%) Dynamics 365
5 23 (3.15%) Azure DevOps
6 17 (2.33%) SaaS
7 16 (2.19%) Microsoft 365
8 12 (1.64%) Power Automate
8 12 (1.64%) Salesforce Commerce Cloud
9 11 (1.51%) OCI
10 10 (1.37%) Figma
10 10 (1.37%) Snowflake
10 10 (1.37%) SuccessFactors
11 9 (1.23%) Entra ID
11 9 (1.23%) Vertex AI
12 8 (1.10%) GitHub
12 8 (1.10%) Serverless
13 6 (0.82%) GitHub Actions
13 6 (0.82%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 20 (2.74%) RFID
2 18 (2.47%) NFC
2 18 (2.47%) Wireless
3 15 (2.05%) Firewall
4 12 (1.64%) VPN
5 8 (1.10%) WAN
5 8 (1.10%) Wi-Fi
6 5 (0.68%) Cisco Nexus
6 5 (0.68%) LAN
7 4 (0.55%) BGP
7 4 (0.55%) EIGRP
7 4 (0.55%) OSPF
7 4 (0.55%) VoIP
8 3 (0.41%) Broadband
8 3 (0.41%) DNS
9 2 (0.27%) MPLS
9 2 (0.27%) SAN
9 2 (0.27%) TCP/IP
9 2 (0.27%) WLAN
10 1 (0.14%) Intranet
Database & Business Intelligence
1 41 (5.62%) Power BI
2 14 (1.92%) Data Warehouse
2 14 (1.92%) Metadata
3 12 (1.64%) BigQuery
3 12 (1.64%) Tableau
4 11 (1.51%) SQL Server
5 6 (0.82%) Data Lake
6 5 (0.68%) MongoDB
6 5 (0.68%) Power Query
6 5 (0.68%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 4 (0.55%) Delta Lake
7 4 (0.55%) Redis
7 4 (0.55%) Relational Database
8 3 (0.41%) Big Data
8 3 (0.41%) Data Vault
8 3 (0.41%) Oracle Reports
8 3 (0.41%) PostgreSQL
8 3 (0.41%) SAP BW
8 3 (0.41%) Snowflake Schema
8 3 (0.41%) Star Schema
Development Applications
1 58 (7.95%) JIRA
2 14 (1.92%) Git
3 11 (1.51%) Jenkins
4 4 (0.55%) Selenium
4 4 (0.55%) Storybook
5 3 (0.41%) Postman
6 2 (0.27%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 2 (0.27%) ERwin
6 2 (0.27%) JMeter
6 2 (0.27%) JUnit
6 2 (0.27%) MLflow
6 2 (0.27%) Mockito
6 2 (0.27%) PowerDesigner
6 2 (0.27%) SoapUI
6 2 (0.27%) Xcode
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
1 259 (35.48%) Social Skills
2 158 (21.64%) Finance
3 77 (10.55%) Analytical Skills
4 66 (9.04%) Banking
5 53 (7.26%) Marketing
6 45 (6.16%) Public Sector
7 42 (5.75%) Manufacturing
8 36 (4.93%) Retail Banking
9 34 (4.66%) Organisational Skills
10 29 (3.97%) Corporate Banking
10 29 (3.97%) Investment Banking
11 28 (3.84%) Legal
12 22 (3.01%) Influencing Skills
13 20 (2.74%) Documentation Skills
14 15 (2.05%) Presentation Skills
15 14 (1.92%) Inclusion and Diversity
16 11 (1.51%) Telecoms
17 8 (1.10%) Automotive
18 7 (0.96%) Financial Institution
18 7 (0.96%) Law
Job Titles
1 133 (18.22%) Analyst
2 84 (11.51%) Architect
3 83 (11.37%) Project Manager
4 62 (8.49%) Senior
5 56 (7.67%) Business Analyst
6 50 (6.85%) Lead
7 37 (5.07%) Solutions Architect
8 31 (4.25%) Consultant
9 25 (3.42%) Senior Manager
10 24 (3.29%) Developer
11 20 (2.74%) Programme Manager
12 19 (2.60%) Product Manager
13 18 (2.47%) Administrator
14 14 (1.92%) Data Analyst
15 13 (1.78%) SAP Consultant
15 13 (1.78%) Support Analyst
16 12 (1.64%) Enterprise Architect
16 12 (1.64%) Field Engineer
16 12 (1.64%) Senior Analyst
16 12 (1.64%) Technical Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 20 (2.74%) React
2 17 (2.33%) REST
3 14 (1.92%) Node.js
3 14 (1.92%) PySpark
4 12 (1.64%) HTML
5 11 (1.51%) VML
6 10 (1.37%) .NET
7 7 (0.96%) CSS
7 7 (0.96%) Kafka
7 7 (0.96%) React Native
7 7 (0.96%) RESTful
7 7 (0.96%) scikit-learn
8 6 (0.82%) FastAPI
8 6 (0.82%) Oracle Fusion
8 6 (0.82%) XML
9 5 (0.68%) CSS3
9 5 (0.68%) EDI
9 5 (0.68%) HTML5
9 5 (0.68%) Matplotlib
9 5 (0.68%) PyTorch
Miscellaneous
1 42 (5.75%) Product Ownership
2 31 (4.25%) Legacy Systems
3 23 (3.15%) IoT
3 23 (3.15%) Self-Motivation
4 21 (2.88%) EPoS
4 21 (2.88%) Onboarding
5 18 (2.47%) Mobile App
6 17 (2.33%) FMCG
7 12 (1.64%) Data Centre
7 12 (1.64%) Management Information System
8 11 (1.51%) Analytical Mindset
8 11 (1.51%) Cloud Native
9 10 (1.37%) Driving Licence
10 9 (1.23%) Algorithms
10 9 (1.23%) Greenfield Project
11 8 (1.10%) Data Structures
12 7 (0.96%) Hybrid Cloud
13 6 (0.82%) Enterprise Software
13 6 (0.82%) Replication
13 6 (0.82%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 42 (5.75%) Windows
2 6 (0.82%) Apple iOS
2 6 (0.82%) Linux
2 6 (0.82%) Mac OS
3 3 (0.41%) Android
3 3 (0.41%) Windows Server
4 2 (0.27%) Windows 10
5 1 (0.14%) Kali Linux
5 1 (0.14%) Mac OS X
5 1 (0.14%) VMS
5 1 (0.14%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 174 (23.84%) Agile
2 172 (23.56%) Stakeholder Management
3 108 (14.79%) Problem-Solving
4 84 (11.51%) Project Management
5 80 (10.96%) E-Commerce
6 79 (10.82%) Analytics
7 67 (9.18%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 64 (8.77%) Roadmaps
9 63 (8.63%) Migration
10 61 (8.36%) Continuous Improvement
11 57 (7.81%) Customer Experience
12 53 (7.26%) CRM
13 51 (6.99%) DevOps
14 50 (6.85%) Business Intelligence
15 49 (6.71%) AI
15 49 (6.71%) Workshop Facilitation
16 48 (6.58%) Decision-Making
16 48 (6.58%) Waterfall
17 46 (6.30%) Data Modelling
17 46 (6.30%) Logistics
Programming Languages
1 66 (9.04%) Python
2 59 (8.08%) SQL
3 18 (2.47%) JavaScript
4 16 (2.19%) Java
5 11 (1.51%) Bash
5 11 (1.51%) PowerShell
5 11 (1.51%) TypeScript
6 8 (1.10%) C#
7 6 (0.82%) Kusto Query Language
8 4 (0.55%) PL/SQL
9 3 (0.41%) X++
10 2 (0.27%) ABAP
10 2 (0.27%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 2 (0.27%) Go
10 2 (0.27%) PHP
10 2 (0.27%) R
10 2 (0.27%) Shell Script
10 2 (0.27%) Swift
10 2 (0.27%) VBA
11 1 (0.14%) REXX
Qualifications
1 37 (5.07%) Degree
2 21 (2.88%) PMP
3 18 (2.47%) PMI Certification
4 15 (2.05%) Security Cleared
5 10 (1.37%) Computer Science Degree
6 7 (0.96%) Master's Degree
7 5 (0.68%) CISSP
7 5 (0.68%) ITIL Certification
7 5 (0.68%) Microsoft Certification
8 4 (0.55%) CCIE
8 4 (0.55%) CCNP
8 4 (0.55%) Cisco Certification
8 4 (0.55%) CSPO
9 3 (0.41%) ACCA
9 3 (0.41%) CISM
9 3 (0.41%) CRISC
9 3 (0.41%) GIAC
10 2 (0.27%) BPSS Clearance
10 2 (0.27%) MBA
10 2 (0.27%) SC Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (3.29%) QA
2 19 (2.60%) Data Quality
3 18 (2.47%) GDPR
4 15 (2.05%) SLA
5 13 (1.78%) Accessibility
6 9 (1.23%) PMO
7 6 (0.82%) COBIT
8 5 (0.68%) Actionable Recommendations
9 3 (0.41%) IFRS
9 3 (0.41%) ISO/IEC 27001
9 3 (0.41%) NCSC
9 3 (0.41%) PCI DSS
10 2 (0.27%) MiFID
10 2 (0.27%) NIST
10 2 (0.27%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 1 (0.14%) FATCA
11 1 (0.14%) IFRS 9
11 1 (0.14%) PSD2
11 1 (0.14%) SEPA
11 1 (0.14%) Solvency II
System Software
1 12 (1.64%) Active Directory
2 11 (1.51%) 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 (3.01%) Terraform
2 12 (1.64%) Kubernetes
3 10 (1.37%) Ansible
4 6 (0.82%) Grafana
4 6 (0.82%) Microsoft Intune
5 4 (0.55%) SCCM
5 4 (0.55%) Single Sign-On
6 3 (0.41%) Jamf Pro
6 3 (0.41%) Prometheus
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 83 (11.37%) Microsoft
2 63 (8.63%) SAP
3 45 (6.16%) Oracle
4 43 (5.89%) Salesforce
5 23 (3.15%) Google
6 18 (2.47%) Databricks
7 15 (2.05%) HP
8 14 (1.92%) Adobe
9 10 (1.37%) CheckPoint
9 10 (1.37%) Dell
9 10 (1.37%) F5
10 7 (0.96%) Cisco
10 7 (0.96%) Dynatrace
11 6 (0.82%) Splunk
11 6 (0.82%) Workday
12 5 (0.68%) Apple
12 5 (0.68%) Meraki
12 5 (0.68%) ServiceNow
12 5 (0.68%) VMware
12 5 (0.68%) Zscaler