Industry News & Headlines | July 2024

August 19, 2024

Finally, it looks as though Summer has arrived. It’s taken until the last week of July but it’s here! And, the positivity continues as Simply Commerce had its best month YTD for new placements.

Following recent surveys and reports from Lloyds Banking Group and Deloitte, it’s clear that both business and consumer confidence are high. We anticipate this optimism will result in new work streams and growth opportunities and, whilst these work streams are likely to remain concentrated in smaller areas where ROI can be quickly tracked, their emergence is nonetheless a positive development. This is especially encouraging for the retail sector, which has been cautious since the start of 2023.

Incoming vacancies across June and July were lower than we would have liked. However, the general sentiment in the market is that more vacancies are available, with companies choosing to exhaust their direct search options before seeking specialist assistance. Notably, there has been a significant uptick in strategic leadership vacancies compared to the previous 12 months, which is a promising sign for the future.

Internally, I’m pleased to confirm the whitepaper we have been working on for the past couple of months, focused on challenges and opportunities within digital commerce, is almost ready for release – you can expect a copy of it in the next week or so. A lot of work has gone into this behind the scenes with multiple surveys taking place at events such as IRX and Retail Tech Show earlier this year, as well as quantitive research we undertook with our network back in Spring.

 

Market Spotlight + Top 5 eCommerce Stories This Month

  • boohoo has launched an online marketplace as it looks to become a ‘one-stop destination for all fashion, beauty, and lifestyle needs’. Customers will be able to shop from 150 brands including Revolution Beauty, L’Oréal Paris, Ray-Ban, Marc Jacobs, and Michael Kors READ MORE
  • IKEA has opened its one-hundredth mobile pick-up point at Tesco, with the Swedish furniture retailer announcing plans to double this number. Almost 40% of Ikea’s UK sales now come from the online channel READ MORE
  • No country in the world has as many internet users shopping online as The Netherlands, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The eCommerce penetration rate is 84% and the market worth nearly €35 billion in 2023 READ MORE
  • Waitrose & Partners has grown its market share for the first time in two years as investments into its food range pay off. Kantar’s supermarket share and inflation update showed that spending at the upmarket grocer edged up 3.3%, helping to lift its market share by 0.1 percentage points to 4.5% READ MORE
  • Amazon Prime Day UK consumer spending across two days saw ‘record highs’ totalling £1.3bn, according to the latest data from Adobe Analytics READ MORE

 

 

Each month we send out the latest industry news and headlines, plus sector insight such as this via our newsletter, The Pulse. This also includes the latest jobs and internal news… click HERE  to subscribe

Written by:

James Hodges

Director of Client Engagement

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Industry News & Headlines | June 2024

July 19, 2024

Despite the positivity we saw in Q2, the start of Q3 was somewhat inconsistent when it came to new vacancies coming to market.

Although, whilst delivery, product, and leadership opportunities were a little on the light side, G-T-M and software engineering remains buoyant which is encouraging indeed.

We also know that the pipeline for new hires is robust, with roles anticipated at all levels. There remains a strong appetite for growing teams and launching new projects, even if these projects are expected to be smaller in scale.

Demand within retail is currently concentrated on PIM, OMS, and Data. This is partly due to previous underinvestment in these areas and partly due to significant technological innovations in recent years.

Outside of retail, we believe manufacturing, pharma, and automotive to be industries to watch.

It’s also worth noting that US jobs data showed an unexpected rise in May, indicating a strong recovery and potential growth in the job market. Similarly, UK jobs data suggests that the decline from the pre-COVID spike has bottomed out and stabilised, pointing to a more stable and resilient employment landscape – let’s hope this positive trend continues.

Market Spotlight + Top 5 eCommerce Stories This Month

  • Shopify launched its most advanced AI platform, featuring tools like instant personalised product descriptions, combined discounts, and real-time analytics. These updates aim to streamline operations, boost customer engagement, and support business growth READ MORE
  • Gymshark launched “We Do Gym,” a brand platform emphasising its dedication to gym culture. The initiative, set for the next 12 months, aims to distinguish Gymshark from athleisure and sportswear competitors READ MORE
  • Clarks is cutting 150 head office jobs after a £39.8m loss in 2023. The cuts impact their UK and US headquarters, driven by increased demand for lower-priced products and rising costs READ MORE
  • Tesco launches online marketplace, integrating 9,000 third-party products into the online operation. Items span DIY, garden, homeware, pet care, and toys, all fulfilled by suppliers READ MORE
  • Amazon has bolstered its grocery offer by introducing deliveries to all its customers in eligible cities across the UK and launching member pricing. Customers in more than 100 towns and cities nationwide can now receive groceries from its own Fresh stores, Morrisons, Co-op, and Iceland READ MORE

 

 

Each month we send out the latest industry news and headlines, plus sector insight such as this via our newsletter, The Pulse. This also includes the latest jobs and internal news… click HERE  to subscribe

Written by:

James Hodges

Director of Client Engagement

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Industry News & Headlines | May 2024

June 19, 2024

Positivity is in the air as May looks to have picked up where April left off – plenty of new vacancies coming through the door as companies accelerate their hiring, particularly within software engineering and sales/partnerships.

Partnership hires seem to be a real growth area for digital commerce-focused vendors and agencies over the past couple of years, and having heard some of the success stories from forming true partnerships between organisations, I can certainly see why.

As new roles go live, it has to be said that we are still experiencing extremely high application numbers for most vacancies.

Whilst the general feeling is that this is a somewhat time-consuming way of recruiting, there are still some good applicants for most roles, you just need to have the bandwidth to sift through the hundreds of CVs (or indeed, engage with a specialist recruiter if you’re not already to take on the heavy lifting in that regard!).

Looking at the market more generally, we had reports just a few weeks ago that the UK had officially come out of recession, with the fasted growth in almost two years.

Whilst we aren’t automatically out of the trenches quite yet, we expect this to have a positive impact on both new work streams being signed off and on the hiring of both permanent and contractor resources.

This was confirmed in a recent survey conducted by the Simply Commerce team, which revealed that 53% of digital commerce leaders believe their companies will be hiring this year.

 

Market Spotlight + Top 5 eCommerce Stories This Month

  •  M&S continues its turnaround with a +58% leap in profit in the first quarter of this year to £672.5 million. Overall sales at the high street giant were up +19.3% to £13billion, with a +5.3% increase in turnover at Clothing & Home READ MORE
  • Temu‘s owner PDD Holdings has posted soaring profits and revenue for the first quarter of this year. The company saw total revenues increase +131% to £9.3bn. Operating profit surged +275% year on year to £2.8bn READ MORE
  • boohoo reported group sales declined 17% YoY to £1.4bn in the year to 29 February, driven by ‘difficult market conditions’. The fashion retailer’s pre-tax losses widened to £159.9m in the period from £90.7m last year, with gross profit falling 16% to £756m READ MORE
  • Amazon announced plans to build a £500m robotic warehouse in Northampton, projected to be fully operational by 2026. The facility, featuring three floors of robotics technology for stowing and picking customer orders, will initially create 1,400 jobs, ranging from engineers to HR, finance and IT staff READ MORE
  • TikTok shop is due to go live in Continental Europe this Summer and has already started inviting merchants to beta-test READ MORE

 

Each month we send out the latest industry news and headlines, plus sector insight such as this via our newsletter, The Pulse. This also includes the latest jobs and internal news… click HERE  to subscribe

Written by:

James Hodges

Director of Client Engagement

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Industry News & Headlines | April 2024

May 19, 2024

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

 

Each month we send out the latest industry news and headlines, plus sector insight such as this via our newsletter, The Pulse. This also includes the latest jobs and internal news… click HERE  to subscribe

Written by:

James Hodges

Director of Client Engagement

Connect on LinkedIn