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

6 months to
1 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 140 94 103
Rank change year-on-year -46 +9 -32
Contract jobs citing Retail 737 917 1,040
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.06% 2.55% 2.28%
As % of the General category 3.31% 4.26% 3.82%
Number of daily rates quoted 429 491 590
10th Percentile £206 £263 £285
25th Percentile £400 £406 £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 £736 £750 £749
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £500 £500
% change year-on-year - - -2.44%
Number of hourly rates quoted 57 10 32
10th Percentile £14.09 £16.05 £15.33
25th Percentile £15.25 £18.13 £18.92
Median hourly rate £16.34 £32.50 £19.81
Median % change year-on-year -49.74% +64.06% -
75th Percentile £19.50 £37.88 £20.75
90th Percentile £25.15 £49.38 £29.08
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 22,251 21,546 27,208
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 62.27% 59.88% 59.59%
Number of daily rates quoted 13,958 12,764 18,053
10th Percentile £275 £293 £281
25th Percentile £400 £413 £420
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 £758 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £488 £500
% change year-on-year -2.56% -2.50% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,425 795 1,123
10th Percentile £13.80 £15.20 £14.25
25th Percentile £16.55 £18.00 £17.00
Median hourly rate £24.00 £28.00 £31.76
Median % change year-on-year -14.29% -11.84% +27.04%
75th Percentile £45.46 £53.75 £58.75
90th Percentile £70.00 £70.15 £70.66
UK excluding London median hourly rate £22.01 £26.50 £30.00
% change year-on-year -16.96% -11.67% +36.12%

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 1 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 1 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 1 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 -43 676 £500 -4.76% 840
London -30 354 £525 -5.66% 221
UK excluding London -30 325 £500 - 801
Work from Home -69 185 £548 +4.29% 349
South East -17 96 £525 -4.55% 263
North of England -48 75 £500 +9.59% 127
Midlands -44 55 £450 -10.00% 169
East of England -9 44 £595 +10.70% 82
East Midlands 0 36 £450 -10.00% 75
Yorkshire -38 36 £531 +18.06% 56
North West -26 34 £500 +11.11% 56
South West +16 31 £183 -55.38% 84
Scotland 0 19 £500 - 69
West Midlands -44 18 £450 -16.28% 90
North East -6 6 £206 -65.63% 16
Wales -2 4 £625 +331.03% 25
Northern Ireland -5 1 - - 4

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 (4.34%) Confluence
2 19 (2.58%) CMS
3 12 (1.63%) 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
Applications
1 28 (3.80%) Microsoft Excel
2 14 (1.90%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 13 (1.76%) 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 (3.93%) SAP S/4HANA
2 13 (1.76%) Shopify
3 10 (1.36%) Oracle Retail
4 8 (1.09%) Dynamics CRM
4 8 (1.09%) 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%) SAP GTS
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 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
9 2 (0.27%) Temenos T24
Cloud Services
1 88 (11.94%) Azure
2 49 (6.65%) AWS
3 48 (6.51%) Power Platform
4 30 (4.07%) GCP
5 24 (3.26%) Azure DevOps
5 24 (3.26%) Dynamics 365
6 17 (2.31%) SaaS
7 13 (1.76%) Microsoft 365
8 11 (1.49%) OCI
8 11 (1.49%) Power Automate
9 10 (1.36%) Salesforce Commerce Cloud
9 10 (1.36%) Snowflake
9 10 (1.36%) SuccessFactors
10 9 (1.22%) Entra ID
10 9 (1.22%) Figma
10 9 (1.22%) Serverless
10 9 (1.22%) Vertex AI
11 7 (0.95%) GitHub
12 6 (0.81%) Microsoft Copilot
12 6 (0.81%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 19 (2.58%) RFID
1 19 (2.58%) Wireless
2 18 (2.44%) NFC
3 12 (1.63%) Firewall
4 9 (1.22%) VPN
5 7 (0.95%) Wi-Fi
6 5 (0.68%) LAN
6 5 (0.68%) WAN
7 3 (0.41%) Broadband
7 3 (0.41%) Cisco Nexus
7 3 (0.41%) DNS
8 2 (0.27%) BGP
8 2 (0.27%) EIGRP
8 2 (0.27%) Network Security
8 2 (0.27%) OSPF
8 2 (0.27%) SAN
8 2 (0.27%) TCP/IP
8 2 (0.27%) VoIP
9 1 (0.14%) Intranet
9 1 (0.14%) MPLS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 40 (5.43%) Power BI
2 14 (1.90%) Data Warehouse
2 14 (1.90%) Metadata
3 12 (1.63%) BigQuery
3 12 (1.63%) SQL Server
3 12 (1.63%) 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
7 3 (0.41%) Big Data
7 3 (0.41%) Data Vault
7 3 (0.41%) Oracle Reports
7 3 (0.41%) Relational Database
7 3 (0.41%) SAP BW
7 3 (0.41%) Snowflake Schema
7 3 (0.41%) Star Schema
8 2 (0.27%) Data Hub
8 2 (0.27%) Delta Lake
Development Applications
1 56 (7.60%) JIRA
2 16 (2.17%) Git
3 10 (1.36%) 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%) Cypress.io
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 (36.36%) Social Skills
2 160 (21.71%) Finance
3 80 (10.85%) Analytical Skills
4 67 (9.09%) Banking
5 53 (7.19%) Marketing
6 44 (5.97%) Manufacturing
6 44 (5.97%) Public Sector
7 37 (5.02%) Retail Banking
8 35 (4.75%) Organisational Skills
9 31 (4.21%) Investment Banking
10 30 (4.07%) Corporate Banking
11 28 (3.80%) Legal
12 20 (2.71%) Documentation Skills
13 18 (2.44%) Influencing Skills
14 17 (2.31%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 16 (2.17%) Presentation Skills
16 11 (1.49%) Telecoms
17 9 (1.22%) Automotive
17 9 (1.22%) French Language
18 8 (1.09%) Law
Job Titles
1 141 (19.13%) Analyst
2 81 (10.99%) Architect
3 79 (10.72%) Project Manager
4 60 (8.14%) Business Analyst
5 55 (7.46%) Senior
6 51 (6.92%) Lead
7 38 (5.16%) Solutions Architect
8 33 (4.48%) Consultant
9 24 (3.26%) Developer
10 23 (3.12%) Senior Manager
11 20 (2.71%) Administrator
11 20 (2.71%) Programme Manager
12 19 (2.58%) Product Manager
13 14 (1.90%) Data Analyst
13 14 (1.90%) SAP Consultant
14 13 (1.76%) Product Owner
14 13 (1.76%) Senior Analyst
15 12 (1.63%) Field Engineer
15 12 (1.63%) Help Desk Analyst
15 12 (1.63%) Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (2.85%) React
2 18 (2.44%) REST
3 14 (1.90%) HTML
3 14 (1.90%) Node.js
4 11 (1.49%) PySpark
5 10 (1.36%) .NET
5 10 (1.36%) CSS
6 9 (1.22%) VML
7 8 (1.09%) 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%) NumPy
10 5 (0.68%) PyTorch
Miscellaneous
1 37 (5.02%) Product Ownership
2 31 (4.21%) Legacy Systems
3 24 (3.26%) EPoS
4 23 (3.12%) IoT
5 22 (2.99%) Onboarding
5 22 (2.99%) Self-Motivation
6 19 (2.58%) Mobile App
7 18 (2.44%) FMCG
8 12 (1.63%) Analytical Mindset
8 12 (1.63%) Cloud Native
9 11 (1.49%) Management Information System
10 10 (1.36%) Algorithms
10 10 (1.36%) Driving Licence
11 9 (1.22%) Data Centre
11 9 (1.22%) Data Structures
11 9 (1.22%) Greenfield Project
12 6 (0.81%) Enterprise Software
12 6 (0.81%) Hybrid Cloud
12 6 (0.81%) Replication
12 6 (0.81%) Social Media
Operating Systems
1 44 (5.97%) Windows
2 8 (1.09%) Linux
3 7 (0.95%) Mac OS
4 6 (0.81%) Apple iOS
5 3 (0.41%) Android
5 3 (0.41%) Windows Server
6 2 (0.27%) Windows 10
7 1 (0.14%) Kali Linux
7 1 (0.14%) Mac OS X
7 1 (0.14%) VMS
7 1 (0.14%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 171 (23.20%) Agile
2 170 (23.07%) Stakeholder Management
3 105 (14.25%) Problem-Solving
4 84 (11.40%) E-Commerce
5 77 (10.45%) Project Management
6 75 (10.18%) Analytics
7 66 (8.96%) Stakeholder Engagement
8 61 (8.28%) Migration
8 61 (8.28%) Roadmaps
9 60 (8.14%) Continuous Improvement
10 57 (7.73%) Customer Experience
11 55 (7.46%) CRM
12 53 (7.19%) AI
13 52 (7.06%) DevOps
14 51 (6.92%) Workshop Facilitation
15 49 (6.65%) Business Intelligence
16 46 (6.24%) Decision-Making
16 46 (6.24%) ERP
17 45 (6.11%) Logistics
17 45 (6.11%) Project Delivery
Programming Languages
1 68 (9.23%) Python
2 58 (7.87%) SQL
3 19 (2.58%) JavaScript
4 15 (2.04%) Java
5 12 (1.63%) PowerShell
6 11 (1.49%) Bash
6 11 (1.49%) TypeScript
7 8 (1.09%) 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%) VB
12 1 (0.14%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 38 (5.16%) Degree
2 20 (2.71%) PMP
3 16 (2.17%) PMI Certification
4 12 (1.63%) Security Cleared
5 11 (1.49%) Computer Science Degree
6 7 (0.95%) Master's Degree
7 5 (0.68%) CISSP
7 5 (0.68%) Microsoft Certification
8 4 (0.54%) ITIL Certification
9 3 (0.41%) ACCA
9 3 (0.41%) Cisco Certification
9 3 (0.41%) CISM
10 2 (0.27%) BPSS Clearance
10 2 (0.27%) CCIE
10 2 (0.27%) CCNP
10 2 (0.27%) CRISC
10 2 (0.27%) GIAC
10 2 (0.27%) MBA
10 2 (0.27%) SC Cleared
10 2 (0.27%) Six Sigma Green Belt
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (3.53%) QA
2 21 (2.85%) GDPR
3 18 (2.44%) Data Quality
4 12 (1.63%) SLA
5 10 (1.36%) Accessibility
6 7 (0.95%) PMO
7 6 (0.81%) COBIT
8 5 (0.68%) Actionable Recommendations
9 4 (0.54%) ISO/IEC 27001
10 3 (0.41%) GRC
10 3 (0.41%) NIST
10 3 (0.41%) PCI DSS
10 3 (0.41%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 2 (0.27%) IFRS
11 2 (0.27%) MiFID
11 2 (0.27%) NCSC
12 1 (0.14%) Cyber Essentials
12 1 (0.14%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 1 (0.14%) IFRS 9
12 1 (0.14%) Solvency II
System Software
1 13 (1.76%) Active Directory
2 11 (1.49%) Docker
3 2 (0.27%) Virtual Desktop
3 2 (0.27%) VMware Infrastructure
3 2 (0.27%) VMware NSX
4 1 (0.14%) RACF
4 1 (0.14%) Varnish
4 1 (0.14%) VMware ESXi
4 1 (0.14%) XenApp
Systems Management
1 22 (2.99%) Terraform
2 13 (1.76%) Kubernetes
3 10 (1.36%) Ansible
4 5 (0.68%) Grafana
4 5 (0.68%) Microsoft Intune
5 4 (0.54%) Jamf Pro
5 4 (0.54%) SCCM
6 3 (0.41%) Prometheus
6 3 (0.41%) Single Sign-On
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 (11.26%) Microsoft
2 70 (9.50%) SAP
3 45 (6.11%) Oracle
4 43 (5.83%) Salesforce
5 22 (2.99%) Google
6 17 (2.31%) HP
7 16 (2.17%) Adobe
7 16 (2.17%) Databricks
8 10 (1.36%) Dell
9 8 (1.09%) CheckPoint
9 8 (1.09%) F5
9 8 (1.09%) ServiceNow
10 7 (0.95%) Dynatrace
10 7 (0.95%) Workday
11 6 (0.81%) Apple
11 6 (0.81%) Cisco
11 6 (0.81%) Sitecore
11 6 (0.81%) Splunk
12 5 (0.68%) VMware
13 4 (0.54%) Planview