Industry insights - Retail
In 2009, UK retail sales were over £285billion and are growing, despite the economic downturn in 2007. During 2010, the industry created an extra 12,750 full-time jobs, a 2.1% increase on the previous year.
In 2010, there were over 286,000 retail units and more than third of retail spending is done through shops. (British Retail Consortium, 2009)
It is becoming increasingly popular for UK customers to buy their products online and this area of the industry has seen continued growth since before the 2007 recession. The UK now has 150,000 online retail business and more than 600,000 British jobs are either directly in or support e-retail (Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), 2010). However, e-retailing currently only accounts for less than 7% of total retail sales although this is predicted to rise.
There are plenty of graduate opportunities across the sector and many of the leading companies have graduate schemes. Retail graduate jobs offer structured training in many areas, such as management, accounting, IT and creative roles, as well as benefits like staff discounts and pensions.
The retail industry is highly commercial, driven by sales and profit. It is a very dynamic industry, always changing to appeal to customers and compete with competition.
Working in head office is generally a Monday to Friday job. Head office staff are responsible for monitoring the sales figures for the whole business each week and planning for future ranges and company growth.
Working in stores is a lot different to head office, it is likely to involve evenings and weekends and there is more face to face interaction with the customers. Working in a shop gives you first hand experience of the weekly sales and targets and your customers’ expectations.
Retail is the UK's largest private sector employer. The current UK retail market is dominated by a comparatively small number of large retailers who have over 500 employees. These large retailers employ 65% of all people working in retail and have 69% of all the annual turnover of retail businesses. (Skill Smart Retail LMI report, November 2009).
The UK retail industry employs 2.9 million people. This equates to 11% of the total UK workforce. (British Retail Consortium: Retail Stats & Info, 2009)
The retail industry is global, and jobs are available around the world as well as both regionally and nationally in the UK. For further information on international jobs, please refer to opportunities abroad.
The following profiles are examples of key jobs that exist in the retail sector. To find the job roles that best match your skills and interests, login to what jobs would suit me?
For even more career ideas, take a look at types of jobs.
Retail sector jobs are advertised through:
Large retailers usually offer formal graduate training schemes. Applications are made through an online form. Details are advertised via the company website. Candidates who are short-listed attend an assessment centre, followed by an interview and may be asked to complete online tests.
Those who have already worked for a retailer part time may find they have an advantage when applying for jobs internally, and may hear of jobs within the company that haven’t been publicly advertised.
Recruiters advertise all year round, although graduate schemes usually start from the autumn onwards. While there is an expiry date to apply for any graduate scheme, if the retailer fills all of the assessment centre places before the date, the employer will remove the job from their website. It’s important to apply for the role immediately and not to leave it until the last minute.
For more information, see job application advice.
Many of those seeking a career in retailing will have acquired a taste for it through part-time work. Typical skills looked for by employers include:
It’s becoming increasing competitive to find a job within retail head office and a degree is essential. To be considered for a graduate training scheme many retailers ask applicants to have at least a 2:1 in their chosen subject, however, store-based roles do not always require applicants to have a degree.
Employers will be looking for tangible examples of the skills you possess. If you don’t have any sort of retail experience, you can easily show examples of your skills through the work you do at university, as part of your course or extra-curricular work for a society, voluntary work or any other sort of work which involves communicating with people, working as a team or hitting deadlines.
In order to stand out from other applicants when applying for a job in retail, it’s advisable to gain work experience beforehand. Work experience on your application can make a big difference, as a recruiter perceives applicants with work experience as a proactive and committed candidate.
Work experience doesn’t have to be for a long period, anything from one week to a year placement will give you an insight into the day to day of the industry and working environment. It is also a chance for you to decide if you could see yourself working in a similar environment.
Most retail outlets employ part-time sales assistants, which involves working on the shop floor, selling, replenishing stock and customer service. This is an excellent way of experiencing the consumer end of the retail supply chain, and is crucial to understanding customer spending habits. Apply in-store with a CV, or via the company website. You should get as much experience as you can (without it interfering with your studies).
As well as paid work, unpaid work placements and internships are also available in-store and at head offices. Your university careers service may be able to help you find a placement (paid or unpaid) and you can also contact companies directly. You would usually contact the human resources department in the first instance.
You could also gain experience by working on a voluntary basis for a charity shop. Most high streets have charity shops looking for extra help; for further details either go directly to the shop or contact the head office.
Retailers are looking for keen and eager students for work their work placements. Check company websites for application details, or send your CV and covering letter speculatively to shop managers.
You do not need postgraduate qualifications to succeed in retail; however, the right postgraduate course may enhance your career progression. Postgraduate courses can help to develop your business skills within the retail environment. Specifically, you can study retail management, buying and merchandising, logistics, purchasing, marketing and HR. Available courses range from certificate or diploma to a Masters. You can also take short courses in the evenings or weekends.
Some employers encourage postgraduate study as part of your professional development and will fund your course and give you time off to study. There are some areas in which postgraduate study is positively encouraged. For example, those pursuing a career in marketing may study for a Postgraduate Diploma at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). In these specialist careers having a postgraduate qualification may increase your earning potential.
The retail sector offers structured and swift career progression to graduates working on a graduate scheme. Have a look at the retailer’s website for an insight into their job roles and more information on training and the progression path. Should you secure a job which is not on a graduate scheme, the company will still provide training on the job, which will usually be in-house and sometimes through external providers.
Networking is a useful way of finding out about upcoming positions within other departments or other companies. When you are networking you’ll find the retail industry will appear to be very small and everyone is well connected. Networking website LinkedIn is a useful networking tool, building your contacts and keeping them in one place.
Many of the larger retailers offer graduate schemes. Graduate schemes are structured to give the graduate experience across many different departments in the company, including head office and in-store. The training schemes generally last between one and three years.
SMEs are organisations with less than 250 employees and an annual turnover of no more than £26million. Working for a smaller company can be rewarding because you are more likely to forge a path for yourself within the company, although opportunities to try other departments may be limited.
SMEs are unlikely to use the testing and assessment techniques of larger companies, or follow lengthy recruitment procedures. SMEs are more likely to advertise their vacancies through the local press, university careers service bulletins, local graduate vacancy listings, jobcentres, and word of mouth, rather than rely on their reputation and a presence at graduate recruitment fairs.
Your university careers service should have listings of jobs with small firms. See also the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
Retail is often seen as a stepping-stone for entrepreneurs to start up in other business sectors. For those wishing to set up on their own, it is important to appreciate the level of commitment involved. Take independent advice and consider taking a course in setting a business up. If you are hoping to open a shop, some previous retail is essential. Internet selling or market stalls can provide a starting point for a fairly low outlay. If you are in a position to purchase your own outlet, one option is to acquire a franchise. In doing so, you are buying into an established name and may be provided with training and support. Remember though, that the franchiser will take a percentage of the turnover. See the British Franchise Association (BFA) for more information.
Find out more about self-employment.
The retail sector is becoming increasingly global and it is possible to find work abroad. Many high street names have head offices outside of the UK. For example, H&M is based in Sweden. Competitive retailers across the world have taken advantage of global supply chains and the economies of scale, which come with high-volume operations. In order to be successful, retailers must be able to deal with issues such as currency fluctuations, sudden political change, oil prices and tax rules.
When considering a job overseas you should take into account immigration and visa requirements. Finding a job in the EU is much easier than the rest of the world, as a visa is not required. Knowledge of a foreign or European language would be an advantage.
The Bologna Process introduced a coherent degree system across most of the EU, and many countries now adopt the familiar Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate classifications. These are also comparable to the degree systems in places like the US, Canada and Australia.
There are a number of organisations that help with the transfer of your qualifications, mainly for work within Europe countries. ENIC-NARIC is a good place to start, as it gives information on the policies and procedures for the recognition of qualifications in 54 counties.
Europass is another UK-based organisation that helps with documentation to work, study or train in Europe.
There are a large number of international retail head offices based in the UK. Working for a British retailer with overseas interests can provide opportunities if you are looking for the chance to work abroad. Some offer secondments in Europe or further afield. In some companies, for example, Tesco, it has been found that staff promotion prospects are greatly enhanced by a period of work abroad.
Alshaya, the leading franchise retail organisation in the Middle East, has over 55 brands in its company portfolio with stores in the Middle East, Africa and Central Europe.
A growing number of European retailers are considering graduates from specific disciplines, such as fashion design, merchandising, graphic design, but this is rare and in other disciplines you will need experience to find a job abroad. Gaining experience within a blue-chip retailer before you apply for a job overseas will make you more employable to companies.
There are plenty of large international retailers nearby and further afield. Inditex, the world's largest fashion retailer, is based in Spain. It is the parent company of eight brands, including Zara and Massimo Dutti, and in total has over 4,700 stores worldwide.
Carrefour is the largest hypermarket chain in the world and its headquarters is based in France. The largest retailer in the world is Wal-Mart, a US company, which sells everything from clothing to food and homeware. It has over 8,600 stores under 55 different titles in 15 countries.
There is currently debate around consumerism and its compatibility with sustainable business practices. Responsible retailers are looking at consumption and efficiency, and whether or not they can make a difference while also remaining competitive. Marks & Spencer is leading the way with a five year commitment called Plan A. Their aim is to become the most sustainable major retailer in the world.
Retail websites are becoming more interactive and there is an increasing need for retailers to become experts in online marketing and marketing through mobile devices, i.e. smart phones. Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) forecasts that by 2012, online sales will have expanded by another 320%, to be worth in excess of £60billion per annum and will represent almost 20% of all retail sales. Internet shopping will not, however, spell the end for shops, people will continue to see shopping in stores as an enjoyable pastime.
Following the recession, consumers are more selective about how and what they buy. Retailers have tuned into this by using social media tools which allow them to create a following, sending information and offers directly to the customers by using social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Marketing agency Red Square recently reported that retail, food and fashion brands are some of the most popular categories on social media.
Home shopping through catalogues is also predicted to expand. This area of the sector might have been expected to flounder with the advent of internet shopping but there has been a substantial increase in the number of catalogues, often launched in tandem with websites. Over 800 home shopping companies are listed in The Retail Directory of the UK.
Although some are linked to high street names, a great number are small and specialist companies, offering products such as specialised fashion, homeware, TV and film memorabilia.
It is likely that increased access to digital television will lead to more purchases being made through interactive systems. TV shopping has not really taken off in the UK to date, although several newer channels have been launched and share our digital screens with QVC and Ideal World. With the UK shortly switching to digital TV, growth is likely in this area. ASDA, for example, has experimented with taking customers’ orders via interactive TV.
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