The month of April seems to have been a catalyst for many. We’ve seen and heard new workstreams being signed off, new hires being approved, previously paused projects picked back up, and lots of contacts in the network securing new positions.
I have my suspicions that the start of a new financial year may have impacted this upward trend and played a big part in new hiring budgets being approved.
Simply Commerce noticed a notable uptick in new vacancies throughout the month. In fact, April has been one of our strongest months for new vacancies. We have also noticed:
🔴 30% of new vacancies are contract
🔴 30% of new vacancies sit within delivery or middle management
🔴 70% of new vacancies within engineering and testing.
Whilst new vacancies were high, April still had its challenges. We are seeing lengthy interview processes with extra due diligence happening. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s important to make the right hire, however, with the market slowly turning, particularly within engineering, we are already seeing companies that can move through the process quickly win the race to some great candidates.
Finally, SC attended the Retail Technology Show and what an event that was, the atmosphere was buzzing, the footfall was huge and the general takeaways are that there is still so much that can be done within this space. Personalisation & Content, Search and Product Information seem to be the 3 key areas of investment – along with Gen-AI of course.
Market Spotlight + Top 5 eCommerce Stories This Month
- JD Sports expanded its flagship store in Westfield Stratford City, adding 4,000 sq ft and enhancing its digital features including immersive shopping experiences READ MORE
- TikTok Shop UK expanded into preowned luxury fashion, joining existing offerings such as flowers and wellness, partnering with Luxe Collective Fashion, Sellier Knightsbridge, Sign of the Times, and Break. Archive READ MORE
- ASOS.com continues to struggle as it recorded an 18% decline in sales in the 26 weeks to 3 March, with adjusted group revenue falling to £1.5bn. Loss before tax improved slightly to £270m, from a £290m loss last year READ MORE
- Frasers Group acquired Dutch sports retailer Twin Sport, as part of its international expansion strategy. Twin Sport, with 17 stores in the Netherlands, yielded nearly £64m revenue in 2023. Frasers is also securing 10 former Sprinter retail locations READ MORE
- Vinted revenue increased 61% up to €596 million from 22 to 23, more importantly, however, finally reaching profitability for the first time READ MORE
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