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

6 months to
8 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 88 123 81
Rank change year-on-year +35 -42 +10
Contract jobs citing Retail 1,570 750 1,007
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 2.93% 2.28% 2.59%
As % of the General category 5.31% 3.60% 4.51%
Number of daily rates quoted 929 394 555
10th Percentile £313 £300 £300
25th Percentile £450 £413 £406
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £513 £500
Median % change year-on-year +7.32% +2.50% -6.98%
75th Percentile £663 £630 £625
90th Percentile £738 £725 £713
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £500 £500
% change year-on-year +5.00% - -2.44%
Number of hourly rates quoted 115 43 67
10th Percentile £12.85 £14.65 £12.15
25th Percentile £13.81 £15.25 £12.75
Median hourly rate £18.75 £16.30 £16.30
Median % change year-on-year +15.03% - -17.72%
75th Percentile £22.50 £25.15 £21.37
90th Percentile £43.75 £48.60 £22.58
UK excluding London median hourly rate £15.23 £15.96 £16.15
% change year-on-year -4.57% -1.18% -18.48%

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 general skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for general skills 29,557 20,841 22,339
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 55.14% 63.36% 57.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 17,559 13,017 14,072
10th Percentile £313 £278 £290
25th Percentile £413 £400 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £630 £650
90th Percentile £738 £750 £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 2,204 1,118 1,390
10th Percentile £13.99 £13.25 £14.06
25th Percentile £17.25 £16.30 £17.02
Median hourly rate £32.00 £25.15 £38.12
Median % change year-on-year +27.24% -34.02% +27.07%
75th Percentile £59.00 £50.69 £57.50
90th Percentile £80.00 £70.05 £70.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.23 £22.14 £38.12
% change year-on-year +45.55% -41.92% +46.90%

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 8 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 8 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 8 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 +30 1,437 £550 +4.76% 1,944
London +42 831 £550 - 846
UK excluding London +21 624 £525 +5.00% 1,258
Work from Home +4 341 £525 +5.00% 690
North of England -26 183 £550 +10.00% 345
South East +17 178 £525 -5.41% 352
Midlands +19 128 £529 +22.85% 254
North West +3 117 £550 +10.00% 188
East Midlands +20 70 £500 +21.21% 111
East of England +18 65 £550 +4.76% 109
West Midlands -13 58 £600 +33.33% 143
Yorkshire -34 55 £500 -4.76% 122
South West -41 37 £350 -1.48% 132
Scotland +4 26 £470 -10.57% 58
North East -38 11 £155 -64.89% 38
Wales -11 4 - - 30
Northern Ireland +7 3 £203 -63.18% 13

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 44 (2.80%) Confluence
2 18 (1.15%) CMS
3 13 (0.83%) Adobe Experience Manager
4 12 (0.76%) Apache Airflow
5 9 (0.57%) SharePoint
6 5 (0.32%) 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 (0.064%) Apache
10 1 (0.064%) Microsoft Exchange
Applications
1 55 (3.50%) Microsoft Excel
2 36 (2.29%) Microsoft Office
3 24 (1.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 16 (1.02%) Microsoft Project
5 13 (0.83%) Adobe Creative Suite
6 11 (0.70%) Chatbot
7 9 (0.57%) Photoshop
8 8 (0.51%) Adobe Illustrator
9 6 (0.38%) InDesign
9 6 (0.38%) MS Visio
9 6 (0.38%) Spreadsheet
10 4 (0.25%) Notion
11 3 (0.19%) CPLEX
12 1 (0.064%) PlantUML
12 1 (0.064%) UserZoom
Business Applications
1 42 (2.68%) SAP S/4HANA
2 28 (1.78%) Shopify
3 11 (0.70%) Dynamics CRM
4 9 (0.57%) Oracle Retail
4 9 (0.57%) SAP CRM
4 9 (0.57%) SAP Retail
5 8 (0.51%) Magento
6 6 (0.38%) Salesforce CRM
7 5 (0.32%) NetSuite
7 5 (0.32%) Oracle EBS
7 5 (0.32%) Payment Gateway
7 5 (0.32%) SAP MDG
8 4 (0.25%) SAP SD
9 3 (0.19%) OpenText VIM for SAP
9 3 (0.19%) Oracle Payables
9 3 (0.19%) Oracle Receivables
9 3 (0.19%) SAP ERP
9 3 (0.19%) SAP IBP
10 2 (0.13%) SAP CAR
10 2 (0.13%) Workday HCM
Cloud Services
1 186 (11.85%) Azure
2 142 (9.04%) AWS
3 73 (4.65%) GCP
4 72 (4.59%) Power Platform
5 52 (3.31%) Snowflake
6 42 (2.68%) GitHub
7 33 (2.10%) Azure DevOps
8 32 (2.04%) Entra ID
9 26 (1.66%) GitHub Actions
10 25 (1.59%) Dynamics 365
11 22 (1.40%) Salesforce Commerce Cloud
12 19 (1.21%) Figma
13 18 (1.15%) SaaS
14 16 (1.02%) Azure Data Factory
15 15 (0.96%) Azure Synapse Analytics
16 14 (0.89%) Microsoft 365
17 12 (0.76%) dbt
18 11 (0.70%) Salesforce Service Cloud
18 11 (0.70%) Serverless
19 10 (0.64%) Google Workspace
Communications & Networking
1 21 (1.34%) WAN
2 19 (1.21%) Firewall
3 16 (1.02%) ATM
3 16 (1.02%) VPN
3 16 (1.02%) Wireless
4 14 (0.89%) Network Security
5 13 (0.83%) LAN
6 11 (0.70%) Wi-Fi
7 8 (0.51%) BGP
7 8 (0.51%) IPsec
7 8 (0.51%) OSPF
7 8 (0.51%) SD-WAN
8 7 (0.45%) F5 BIG-IP LTM
8 7 (0.45%) RFID
8 7 (0.45%) Structured Cabling
8 7 (0.45%) VLAN
9 6 (0.38%) Cisco Firepower
9 6 (0.38%) VSAN
10 5 (0.32%) Cisco ASA
10 5 (0.32%) Cisco Nexus
Database & Business Intelligence
1 71 (4.52%) Power BI
2 34 (2.17%) Data Warehouse
3 31 (1.97%) BigQuery
4 23 (1.46%) Data Lake
5 19 (1.21%) NoSQL
6 17 (1.08%) Metadata
6 17 (1.08%) MongoDB
7 16 (1.02%) Tableau
8 15 (0.96%) MySQL
9 14 (0.89%) SQL Server
10 12 (0.76%) Power Query
10 12 (0.76%) Relational Database
11 10 (0.64%) Amazon Redshift
11 10 (0.64%) PostgreSQL
11 10 (0.64%) SQL Server Integration Services
12 8 (0.51%) Redis
13 7 (0.45%) Couchbase
13 7 (0.45%) Looker
13 7 (0.45%) SAP HANA
14 6 (0.38%) Semantic Layer
Development Applications
1 75 (4.78%) JIRA
2 30 (1.91%) Git
3 19 (1.21%) Jenkins
4 8 (0.51%) Subversion
5 7 (0.45%) Claude Code
6 5 (0.32%) JMeter
7 4 (0.25%) Cypress.io
7 4 (0.25%) Eclipse
7 4 (0.25%) GitLab
7 4 (0.25%) Hudson
7 4 (0.25%) Maven
8 2 (0.13%) git-flow
8 2 (0.13%) MLflow
8 2 (0.13%) Oracle Forms
8 2 (0.13%) Postman
8 2 (0.13%) Selenium
8 2 (0.13%) Terragrunt
8 2 (0.13%) Visual Studio
8 2 (0.13%) webpack
9 1 (0.064%) Toad
General
1 437 (27.83%) Social Skills
2 374 (23.82%) Finance
3 162 (10.32%) Analytical Skills
4 128 (8.15%) Banking
5 103 (6.56%) Marketing
6 92 (5.86%) Manufacturing
7 65 (4.14%) Retail Banking
8 64 (4.08%) Organisational Skills
9 49 (3.12%) Investment Banking
10 45 (2.87%) Corporate Banking
11 32 (2.04%) Influencing Skills
12 30 (1.91%) Legal
13 29 (1.85%) Public Sector
14 28 (1.78%) Telecoms
15 27 (1.72%) Advertising
16 23 (1.46%) French Language
17 22 (1.40%) Presentation Skills
18 21 (1.34%) Documentation Skills
19 18 (1.15%) Spanish Language
20 14 (0.89%) Back Office
Job Titles
1 257 (16.37%) Architect
2 229 (14.59%) Analyst
3 184 (11.72%) Senior
4 140 (8.92%) Solutions Architect
5 132 (8.41%) Business Analyst
6 125 (7.96%) Project Manager
7 112 (7.13%) Lead
8 83 (5.29%) Developer
9 51 (3.25%) Consultant
9 51 (3.25%) Senior Manager
10 46 (2.93%) Designer
11 45 (2.87%) Data Analyst
11 45 (2.87%) Product Manager
12 40 (2.55%) Service Manager
13 38 (2.42%) Enterprise Architect
14 36 (2.29%) Senior Developer
14 36 (2.29%) Supply Chain Architect
15 35 (2.23%) Data Architect
15 35 (2.23%) Programme Manager
16 33 (2.10%) Technical Manager
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 72 (4.59%) REST
2 40 (2.55%) React
3 34 (2.17%) Middleware
4 33 (2.10%) Spring
5 32 (2.04%) Kafka
6 28 (1.78%) Node.js
7 25 (1.59%) Spring Boot
8 21 (1.34%) VML
9 20 (1.27%) Django
9 20 (1.27%) RESTful
10 17 (1.08%) SOAP
11 16 (1.02%) MACH
12 15 (0.96%) HTML
13 14 (0.89%) CSS
13 14 (0.89%) Next.js
13 14 (0.89%) OAuth
14 13 (0.83%) Jakarta EE
15 10 (0.64%) .NET
16 9 (0.57%) OAuth2
17 8 (0.51%) SAP Fiori
Miscellaneous
1 87 (5.54%) Product Ownership
2 65 (4.14%) FMCG
3 58 (3.69%) EPoS
4 57 (3.63%) Onboarding
5 46 (2.93%) Cloud Native
6 32 (2.04%) Legacy Systems
7 31 (1.97%) Driving Licence
7 31 (1.97%) Mobile App
8 29 (1.85%) Data Centre
9 23 (1.46%) Marketing Technology
10 22 (1.40%) Data Structures
10 22 (1.40%) Greenfield Project
11 21 (1.34%) Mainframe
11 21 (1.34%) Operational Technology
12 20 (1.27%) Self-Motivation
13 19 (1.21%) Smartphone
14 18 (1.15%) Management Information System
15 17 (1.08%) AI Agents
16 16 (1.02%) IoT
17 14 (0.89%) Distributed Systems
Operating Systems
1 58 (3.69%) Windows
2 23 (1.46%) Linux
3 12 (0.76%) Unix
4 11 (0.70%) Android
5 8 (0.51%) Apple iOS
6 7 (0.45%) Mac OS
6 7 (0.45%) zOS
7 6 (0.38%) Ubuntu
8 5 (0.32%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 5 (0.32%) Windows 10
8 5 (0.32%) Windows Server
9 2 (0.13%) Debian
10 1 (0.064%) SUSE
10 1 (0.064%) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
10 1 (0.064%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 381 (24.27%) Stakeholder Management
2 368 (23.44%) Agile
3 237 (15.10%) E-Commerce
4 205 (13.06%) Problem-Solving
5 184 (11.72%) Migration
6 182 (11.59%) Roadmaps
7 167 (10.64%) Analytics
8 165 (10.51%) AI
9 150 (9.55%) Logistics
10 138 (8.79%) Customer Experience
11 136 (8.66%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 129 (8.22%) Continuous Improvement
13 128 (8.15%) Decision-Making
14 124 (7.90%) CI/CD
15 113 (7.20%) CRM
15 113 (7.20%) Project Management
16 110 (7.01%) ERP
17 106 (6.75%) DevOps
18 105 (6.69%) Project Delivery
18 105 (6.69%) User Acceptance Testing
Programming Languages
1 139 (8.85%) SQL
2 108 (6.88%) Python
3 58 (3.69%) Java
4 32 (2.04%) TypeScript
5 30 (1.91%) JavaScript
6 12 (0.76%) Data Analysis Expressions
7 10 (0.64%) C#
7 10 (0.64%) PowerShell
8 8 (0.51%) ABAP
8 8 (0.51%) Apex Code
8 8 (0.51%) Bash
8 8 (0.51%) R
8 8 (0.51%) SOQL
9 6 (0.38%) Bicep
9 6 (0.38%) Kotlin
9 6 (0.38%) PL/SQL
9 6 (0.38%) Scala
9 6 (0.38%) SOSL
10 5 (0.32%) Groovy
11 4 (0.25%) Shell Script
Qualifications
1 64 (4.08%) Degree
2 41 (2.61%) Security Cleared
3 22 (1.40%) PMP
3 22 (1.40%) SC Cleared
4 13 (0.83%) DBS Check
5 12 (0.76%) PMI Certification
6 9 (0.57%) BPSS Clearance
6 9 (0.57%) CISSP
7 6 (0.38%) Cisco Certification
7 6 (0.38%) CISM
7 6 (0.38%) Computer Science Degree
7 6 (0.38%) ITIL Certification
8 5 (0.32%) CCNP
8 5 (0.32%) CCSE
8 5 (0.32%) CCSM
8 5 (0.32%) CSPO
9 4 (0.25%) Azure Certification
9 4 (0.25%) City & Guilds
9 4 (0.25%) PhD
10 3 (0.19%) Master's Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 77 (4.90%) QA
2 72 (4.59%) Data Quality
3 42 (2.68%) GDPR
4 28 (1.78%) PMO
5 24 (1.53%) Accessibility
6 16 (1.02%) PCI DSS
6 16 (1.02%) SLA
7 8 (0.51%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 7 (0.45%) NIST
9 4 (0.25%) California Consumer Privacy Act
9 4 (0.25%) GRC
9 4 (0.25%) WCAG
10 3 (0.19%) Actionable Recommendations
10 3 (0.19%) GAAP
10 3 (0.19%) IFRS
10 3 (0.19%) PSD2
11 2 (0.13%) ISO 8583
11 2 (0.13%) Sarbanes-Oxley
12 1 (0.064%) Basel III
12 1 (0.064%) COBIT
System Software
1 36 (2.29%) Docker
2 34 (2.17%) Active Directory
3 13 (0.83%) Virtual Desktop
4 8 (0.51%) VMware Infrastructure
5 7 (0.45%) Virtual Machines
6 5 (0.32%) Firmware
6 5 (0.32%) VMware ESXi
7 3 (0.19%) VMware NSX
8 1 (0.064%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 50 (3.18%) Terraform
2 38 (2.42%) Kubernetes
3 11 (0.70%) Ansible
3 11 (0.70%) Systems Management Server (SMS)
4 9 (0.57%) Single Sign-On
5 8 (0.51%) Microsoft Intune
6 6 (0.38%) FortiGate
7 5 (0.32%) Grafana
8 4 (0.25%) SCCM
9 3 (0.19%) Bosun
10 2 (0.13%) Active Directory Federation Services
10 2 (0.13%) AirWatch
10 2 (0.13%) CA Single Sign-On
10 2 (0.13%) CloudHub
10 2 (0.13%) Jamf Pro
10 2 (0.13%) logstash
10 2 (0.13%) MOM
10 2 (0.13%) PingFederate
10 2 (0.13%) vCenter Server
11 1 (0.064%) vMotion
Vendors
1 134 (8.54%) Microsoft
2 113 (7.20%) SAP
3 74 (4.71%) Oracle
4 73 (4.65%) Databricks
5 69 (4.39%) Salesforce
6 53 (3.38%) Google
7 35 (2.23%) Adobe
8 24 (1.53%) Zscaler
9 19 (1.21%) MuleSoft
10 17 (1.08%) ServiceNow
10 17 (1.08%) Workday
11 15 (0.96%) Cisco
12 14 (0.89%) IBM
12 14 (0.89%) IFS
12 14 (0.89%) Splunk
13 13 (0.83%) Fortinet
13 13 (0.83%) Palo Alto
13 13 (0.83%) VMware
14 11 (0.70%) Braze
14 11 (0.70%) Informatica