Retailing takes many forms, from high street chains to independent one-off shops, to department stores and market stalls to mail order catalogues and internet retailers.
Approximately three million people are employed in retail in the UK. 61 per cent of employees are female. 53 per cent of employees work part-time. 7 per cent are self-employed.
Internet shopping has expanded greatly in recent years. It is now essential for high street shops to also have an internet operation. High street retail employment is likely slow slightly in the long-term due to growth in online spending. However, there will still be high levels of recruitment to replace those people who retire or leave the sector for other reasons.
The largest groups of employees within retailing are sales assistants and cashiers. Future trends in employment are predicted to be:
Future managers will need to able to deal with the restructuring of organisations and advances in technology. Managers have traditionally been recruited from those qualified to level 3. There is competition from universities for people at this level.
The quality of customer service is becoming ever more important in this competitive sector. Many retailers offer in-house training in this skill.
40 per cent of retail employees are qualified to level 2.
The demand for goods that are produced ethically, locally or regionally remains high. This has led to a threefold increase in the number of UK farmers' markets since 2001. There are currently over 550 such markets.
Several retail projects are planned or underway in the West of England. These include SouthGate (Bath) and the regeneration of Keynsham, Portishead and Weston-super-Mare town centres.
| Position | Annual salary |
|---|---|
| Customer care managers Transport and distribution managers Storage and warehouse managers Retail and wholesale managers |
£37,437 |
| Sales representatives | £27,431 |
| Shopkeepers and wholesale/retail dealers | £26,400 |
| Call centre agents/operators Customer care occupations |
£14,689 |
| Sales and retail assistants Retail cashiers and check-out operators Telephone salespersons Market and street traders and assistants |
£8,509 |
The salaries shown are annual, median, gross pay rates. Gross means before tax and other deductions. The median figure is the middle salary in the range of what all people in that category of job earn.
Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2009, O.N.S., © Crown Copyright.
Many people choose to commute (regularly travelling between home and work) to get the job they want. This will show you where most of the jobs in this sector are in the region.
| Bath and North East Somerset | 9,024 |
| Bristol | 19,399 |
| North Somerset | 9,545 |
| South Gloucestershire | 15,455 |
Annual Business Inquiry Employee Analysis 2009, O.N.S., © Crown Copyright.
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