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 27 August 2026, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
27 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 88 122 90
Rank change year-on-year +34 -32 +9
Contract jobs citing Retail 1,588 756 954
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.96% 2.31% 2.46%
As % of the General category 5.38% 3.63% 4.28%
Number of daily rates quoted 918 400 526
10th Percentile £319 £281 £300
25th Percentile £456 £409 £409
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £513 £505
Median % change year-on-year +7.32% +1.49% -4.72%
75th Percentile £662 £635 £625
90th Percentile £738 £726 £708
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £500 £500
% change year-on-year +5.00% - -1.23%
Number of hourly rates quoted 119 53 53
10th Percentile £12.76 £14.65 £12.15
25th Percentile £13.51 £15.25 £12.50
Median hourly rate £16.92 £16.34 £16.30
Median % change year-on-year +3.58% +0.21% -17.72%
75th Percentile £22.50 £25.15 £21.37
90th Percentile £43.75 £31.23 £23.69
UK excluding London median hourly rate £13.86 £16.30 £16.00
% change year-on-year -15.00% +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 29,532 20,815 22,280
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 55.00% 63.55% 57.39%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,433 12,939 13,813
10th Percentile £313 £275 £285
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 £745 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £494
% change year-on-year +5.26% -3.85% -1.20%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,275 1,181 1,258
10th Percentile £13.81 £13.46 £14.06
25th Percentile £17.06 £16.17 £16.82
Median hourly rate £31.46 £25.15 £35.36
Median % change year-on-year +25.09% -28.87% +26.38%
75th Percentile £55.00 £50.00 £60.00
90th Percentile £78.33 £69.65 £70.29
UK excluding London median hourly rate £31.96 £22.14 £35.00
% change year-on-year +44.37% -36.74% +34.62%

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 27 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 27 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 27 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 1,456 £550 +4.76% 2,987
London +47 830 £573 +4.09% 1,529
UK excluding London +14 648 £525 +5.00% 1,710
Work from Home -5 345 £525 +5.00% 1,107
North of England -12 189 £550 +10.00% 512
South East +11 173 £525 -4.55% 421
Midlands +17 138 £500 +16.14% 336
North West +7 117 £550 +10.00% 280
East Midlands +19 78 £500 +14.68% 181
East of England +10 70 £575 +9.52% 164
West Midlands -10 59 £550 +29.41% 155
Yorkshire -47 55 £500 - 189
South West -31 45 £375 +19.05% 148
Scotland -1 27 £402 -23.43% 101
North East -30 17 £525 +18.64% 47
Wales -12 4 - - 43
Northern Ireland +2 3 £203 -63.18% 20

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 50 (3.15%) Confluence
2 19 (1.20%) CMS
3 11 (0.69%) Adobe Experience Manager
4 10 (0.63%) Apache Airflow
4 10 (0.63%) SharePoint
5 6 (0.38%) SAS
6 4 (0.25%) WebSphere
7 3 (0.19%) Anypoint
8 2 (0.13%) Apache Spark
8 2 (0.13%) CICS
8 2 (0.13%) Mule
9 1 (0.063%) Apache
9 1 (0.063%) Mendix
9 1 (0.063%) Microsoft Exchange
9 1 (0.063%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 57 (3.59%) Microsoft Excel
2 41 (2.58%) Microsoft Office
3 21 (1.32%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 16 (1.01%) Adobe Creative Suite
5 15 (0.94%) Microsoft Project
6 10 (0.63%) Photoshop
7 9 (0.57%) Adobe Illustrator
8 8 (0.50%) MS Visio
8 8 (0.50%) Spreadsheet
9 7 (0.44%) InDesign
10 6 (0.38%) Chatbot
11 4 (0.25%) CPLEX
11 4 (0.25%) Notion
12 1 (0.063%) 3ds Max
12 1 (0.063%) PlantUML
12 1 (0.063%) Siemens NX
12 1 (0.063%) SOLIDWORKS
12 1 (0.063%) UserZoom
Business Applications
1 50 (3.15%) SAP S/4HANA
2 28 (1.76%) Shopify
3 14 (0.88%) SAP Retail
4 11 (0.69%) Dynamics CRM
5 10 (0.63%) Oracle Retail
5 10 (0.63%) SAP CRM
6 8 (0.50%) Magento
7 6 (0.38%) Salesforce CRM
8 5 (0.31%) NetSuite
8 5 (0.31%) Oracle EBS
8 5 (0.31%) Payment Gateway
8 5 (0.31%) SAP MDG
9 4 (0.25%) SAP SD
10 3 (0.19%) OpenText VIM for SAP
10 3 (0.19%) Oracle Payables
10 3 (0.19%) Oracle Receivables
10 3 (0.19%) SAP IBP
10 3 (0.19%) SAP MM
10 3 (0.19%) Workday HCM
11 2 (0.13%) SAP Forecasting and Replenishment
Cloud Services
1 192 (12.09%) Azure
2 142 (8.94%) AWS
3 78 (4.91%) Power Platform
4 69 (4.35%) GCP
5 53 (3.34%) Snowflake
6 38 (2.39%) GitHub
7 33 (2.08%) Entra ID
8 30 (1.89%) Azure DevOps
9 26 (1.64%) Dynamics 365
10 24 (1.51%) GitHub Actions
11 23 (1.45%) Salesforce Commerce Cloud
12 20 (1.26%) Figma
12 20 (1.26%) SaaS
13 16 (1.01%) Azure Synapse Analytics
14 15 (0.94%) Azure Data Factory
15 14 (0.88%) Microsoft 365
16 13 (0.82%) dbt
17 12 (0.76%) OCI
18 11 (0.69%) Salesforce Service Cloud
19 9 (0.57%) Algolia
Communications & Networking
1 23 (1.45%) Firewall
1 23 (1.45%) WAN
2 18 (1.13%) VPN
3 16 (1.01%) ATM
3 16 (1.01%) Wireless
4 15 (0.94%) LAN
4 15 (0.94%) Network Security
5 12 (0.76%) Wi-Fi
6 8 (0.50%) BGP
6 8 (0.50%) IPsec
6 8 (0.50%) OSPF
6 8 (0.50%) SD-WAN
7 7 (0.44%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
7 7 (0.44%) Structured Cabling
7 7 (0.44%) VLAN
8 6 (0.38%) Cisco Firepower
8 6 (0.38%) Internet
8 6 (0.38%) VSAN
9 5 (0.31%) Cisco ASA
9 5 (0.31%) Cisco Nexus
Database & Business Intelligence
1 78 (4.91%) Power BI
2 43 (2.71%) Data Warehouse
3 32 (2.02%) BigQuery
4 24 (1.51%) Data Lake
5 23 (1.45%) Metadata
6 20 (1.26%) Tableau
7 19 (1.20%) NoSQL
8 18 (1.13%) MongoDB
9 17 (1.07%) SQL Server
10 13 (0.82%) MySQL
11 12 (0.76%) Amazon Redshift
11 12 (0.76%) Power Query
11 12 (0.76%) Relational Database
12 11 (0.69%) PostgreSQL
13 10 (0.63%) Redis
13 10 (0.63%) SQL Server Integration Services
13 10 (0.63%) Star Schema
14 8 (0.50%) Couchbase
15 7 (0.44%) SAP HANA
15 7 (0.44%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 79 (4.97%) JIRA
2 26 (1.64%) Git
3 19 (1.20%) 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%) REST Assured
General
1 439 (27.64%) Social Skills
2 382 (24.06%) Finance
3 165 (10.39%) Analytical Skills
4 133 (8.38%) Banking
5 104 (6.55%) Marketing
6 101 (6.36%) Manufacturing
7 68 (4.28%) Retail Banking
8 63 (3.97%) Organisational Skills
9 45 (2.83%) Investment Banking
10 44 (2.77%) Corporate Banking
11 38 (2.39%) Public Sector
12 31 (1.95%) Influencing Skills
13 30 (1.89%) Telecoms
14 28 (1.76%) Legal
15 27 (1.70%) Advertising
16 24 (1.51%) Presentation Skills
17 23 (1.45%) French Language
18 19 (1.20%) Documentation Skills
19 18 (1.13%) Spanish Language
20 17 (1.07%) Back Office
Job Titles
1 258 (16.25%) Architect
2 239 (15.05%) Analyst
3 175 (11.02%) Senior
4 144 (9.07%) Solutions Architect
5 135 (8.50%) Business Analyst
6 124 (7.81%) Project Manager
7 112 (7.05%) Lead
8 85 (5.35%) Developer
9 53 (3.34%) Consultant
10 50 (3.15%) Product Manager
11 48 (3.02%) Data Analyst
12 47 (2.96%) Designer
13 45 (2.83%) Senior Manager
14 40 (2.52%) Supply Chain Architect
15 39 (2.46%) Service Manager
16 36 (2.27%) Data Architect
16 36 (2.27%) Senior Developer
17 35 (2.20%) Technical Manager
18 34 (2.14%) Enterprise Architect
18 34 (2.14%) Transition Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 66 (4.16%) REST
2 51 (3.21%) Terraform
3 41 (2.58%) React
4 34 (2.14%) Kafka
5 29 (1.83%) Node.js
5 29 (1.83%) Spring
6 25 (1.57%) Middleware
7 23 (1.45%) Spring Boot
8 21 (1.32%) VML
9 20 (1.26%) Django
9 20 (1.26%) RESTful
10 19 (1.20%) MACH
11 18 (1.13%) SOAP
12 15 (0.94%) HTML
13 14 (0.88%) Next.js
13 14 (0.88%) OAuth
14 12 (0.76%) CSS
15 11 (0.69%) Jakarta EE
16 10 (0.63%) .NET
16 10 (0.63%) SAP Fiori
Miscellaneous
1 83 (5.23%) Product Ownership
2 69 (4.35%) FMCG
3 58 (3.65%) EPoS
4 57 (3.59%) Onboarding
5 46 (2.90%) Cloud Native
6 34 (2.14%) Legacy Systems
7 31 (1.95%) Data Centre
8 29 (1.83%) Driving Licence
9 27 (1.70%) Mobile App
10 24 (1.51%) Greenfield Project
11 23 (1.45%) Data Structures
11 23 (1.45%) Marketing Technology
12 21 (1.32%) Mainframe
12 21 (1.32%) Management Information System
12 21 (1.32%) Operational Technology
13 19 (1.20%) Self-Motivation
13 19 (1.20%) Smartphone
14 18 (1.13%) AI Agents
15 16 (1.01%) Distributed Systems
16 15 (0.94%) IoT
Operating Systems
1 55 (3.46%) Windows
2 21 (1.32%) 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 3 (0.19%) 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
1 405 (25.50%) Stakeholder Management
2 376 (23.68%) Agile
3 234 (14.74%) E-Commerce
4 192 (12.09%) Migration
4 192 (12.09%) Problem-Solving
5 179 (11.27%) Analytics
6 171 (10.77%) Logistics
7 169 (10.64%) Roadmaps
8 167 (10.52%) AI
9 141 (8.88%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 139 (8.75%) Customer Experience
11 130 (8.19%) Decision-Making
12 128 (8.06%) Continuous Improvement
13 119 (7.49%) Project Management
14 118 (7.43%) CI/CD
15 114 (7.18%) Business Intelligence
16 113 (7.12%) CRM
17 107 (6.74%) User Acceptance Testing
18 104 (6.55%) DevOps
18 104 (6.55%) ERP
Programming Languages
1 143 (9.01%) SQL
2 107 (6.74%) Python
3 53 (3.34%) Java
4 34 (2.14%) TypeScript
5 29 (1.83%) JavaScript
6 12 (0.76%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 10 (0.63%) C#
7 10 (0.63%) R
8 9 (0.57%) ABAP
8 9 (0.57%) Apex Code
8 9 (0.57%) PowerShell
8 9 (0.57%) SOQL
9 8 (0.50%) Bash
10 7 (0.44%) 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 64 (4.03%) Degree
2 45 (2.83%) Security Cleared
3 22 (1.39%) PMP
4 21 (1.32%) SC Cleared
5 13 (0.82%) DBS Check
6 12 (0.76%) PMI Certification
7 9 (0.57%) BPSS Clearance
8 7 (0.44%) Cisco Certification
8 7 (0.44%) ITIL Certification
9 6 (0.38%) CISSP
9 6 (0.38%) Computer Science Degree
10 5 (0.31%) CCNP
10 5 (0.31%) CCSE
10 5 (0.31%) CCSM
10 5 (0.31%) CISM
10 5 (0.31%) CSPO
10 5 (0.31%) Six Sigma Green Belt
11 4 (0.25%) City & Guilds
12 3 (0.19%) Master's Degree
12 3 (0.19%) TOGAF Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 76 (4.79%) Data Quality
1 76 (4.79%) QA
2 38 (2.39%) GDPR
3 24 (1.51%) PMO
4 23 (1.45%) Accessibility
5 14 (0.88%) PCI DSS
5 14 (0.88%) SLA
6 9 (0.57%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 7 (0.44%) NIST
8 5 (0.31%) WCAG
9 3 (0.19%) Actionable Recommendations
9 3 (0.19%) GRC
9 3 (0.19%) PSD2
10 2 (0.13%) California Consumer Privacy Act
10 2 (0.13%) GAAP
10 2 (0.13%) IFRS
10 2 (0.13%) ISO 8583
10 2 (0.13%) Sarbanes-Oxley
11 1 (0.063%) GxP
11 1 (0.063%) IASME
System Software
1 36 (2.27%) Docker
2 32 (2.02%) Active Directory
3 13 (0.82%) 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 (2.52%) 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%) Nagios
10 1 (0.063%) vMotion
10 1 (0.063%) ZABBIX
Vendors
1 142 (8.94%) Microsoft
2 122 (7.68%) SAP
3 80 (5.04%) Salesforce
4 75 (4.72%) Databricks
5 73 (4.60%) Oracle
6 43 (2.71%) Google
7 39 (2.46%) Adobe
8 25 (1.57%) Zscaler
9 22 (1.39%) MuleSoft
10 17 (1.07%) Cisco
10 17 (1.07%) Workday
11 16 (1.01%) ServiceNow
12 14 (0.88%) Fortinet
13 13 (0.82%) IBM
13 13 (0.82%) Palo Alto
13 13 (0.82%) VMware
14 12 (0.76%) Apple
14 12 (0.76%) IFS
15 11 (0.69%) Braze
15 11 (0.69%) New Relic