As online commerce platforms gear up for the festival season, analysts expect a 15-20% year-on-year (YoY) increase in hiring this year. Meanwhile, the onboarding process for these jobs is slightly delayed.
According to data shared by staffing firm Teamlease, this year the seasonal hiring will increase by 15-20% in the overall online commerce segment, driven largely by demand in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Metros are expected to see a 10-15% growth in temporary worker hires, while hiring beyond metros could rise by 20-25%.
Even though the expected seasonal hires across online commerce are higher this year, platforms are being cautious to onboard the workers based on last year’s sluggish demand for sales in the ecommerce segment, according to experts.
“The hiring looks a little muted right now, as against what it should have been around this time of the year. Online commerce platforms are focussing on ramping up seasonal hiring in September rather than in August,” said Balasubramanian Anantha Narayanan, senior vice president, Teamlease.
“Ideally, it should have picked up around the Independence Day period. But we are expecting the hiring to pick up from next week onwards,” he added.
Market research firm 1Lattice’s chief executive, Amar Choudhary, pointed out that there is a focus on tier-2 and tier-3 markets this year for hiring as ecommerce festival season sales expect to see an uptick in demand from these regions.
“Every year, there is a fight for getting hold of the temporary hires, and companies pay more salaries to ramp up their manpower. We are expecting a 20-25% higher base salaries for the seasonal hires during the festive season this year,” he added.
Ahead of the festival season, ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart have created about 3,70,000 seasonal jobs to cater to the growing demand this year.
The festival season, which begins with Raksha Bandhan in mid-August and peaks during Diwali, which is in mid-October this year, sees a significant rise in online shopping by customers. To cater to the volume of orders during this time of the year, the demand for seasonal hires rises in October and November, according to industry experts.
Amazon said it has opened up over 150,000 temporary job opportunities for its seasonal workforce to meet its warehouse and delivery needs ahead of the festival season.
“This festive season, we continue to be focussed on providing fast and reliable deliveries to customers in every serviceable pin code across India. For this, we have strengthened our fulfilment and logistics network with over 1.5 lakh additional people to help us manage increased customer demand efficiently,” said Abhinav Singh, VP, operations, India and Australia, Amazon, in a prepared statement.
These seasonal jobs include direct and indirect work opportunities to meet the needs at fulfilment centres, sort centres, and last-mile delivery stations across the country for online commerce platforms.
Meanwhile, Flipkart has opened up 220,000 seasonal jobs, and 15% of its new hires are first-time workforce entrants – roles include pickers, packers, sorters, and delivery executives.
“This year, we have strengthened our capabilities ahead of the festive season, focussing on building an inclusive workforce, expanding our supply chain people network, and creating more inclusive job opportunities in the ecosystem, backed by technology and sustainable practices,” said Seema Nair, chief human resource officer at Flipkart.
The flagship events — such as Amazon’s Great Indian Festival sale and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days — during the festival season typically account for almost half the gross merchandise value (GMV) these companies report in a year.
Also Read: Mid-year ecommerce sales spike sets the stage for cracking festive season
Last year, Amazon opened positions for 110,000 seasonal employees, and Flipkart, 100,000 jobs during that time. Based on the pre-festival season sales, companies have increased their seasonal hiring projections.
According to data shared by staffing firm Teamlease, this year the seasonal hiring will increase by 15-20% in the overall online commerce segment, driven largely by demand in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Metros are expected to see a 10-15% growth in temporary worker hires, while hiring beyond metros could rise by 20-25%.
Even though the expected seasonal hires across online commerce are higher this year, platforms are being cautious to onboard the workers based on last year’s sluggish demand for sales in the ecommerce segment, according to experts.
“The hiring looks a little muted right now, as against what it should have been around this time of the year. Online commerce platforms are focussing on ramping up seasonal hiring in September rather than in August,” said Balasubramanian Anantha Narayanan, senior vice president, Teamlease.
“Ideally, it should have picked up around the Independence Day period. But we are expecting the hiring to pick up from next week onwards,” he added.
Market research firm 1Lattice’s chief executive, Amar Choudhary, pointed out that there is a focus on tier-2 and tier-3 markets this year for hiring as ecommerce festival season sales expect to see an uptick in demand from these regions.
“Every year, there is a fight for getting hold of the temporary hires, and companies pay more salaries to ramp up their manpower. We are expecting a 20-25% higher base salaries for the seasonal hires during the festive season this year,” he added.
Ahead of the festival season, ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart have created about 3,70,000 seasonal jobs to cater to the growing demand this year.
The festival season, which begins with Raksha Bandhan in mid-August and peaks during Diwali, which is in mid-October this year, sees a significant rise in online shopping by customers. To cater to the volume of orders during this time of the year, the demand for seasonal hires rises in October and November, according to industry experts.
Amazon said it has opened up over 150,000 temporary job opportunities for its seasonal workforce to meet its warehouse and delivery needs ahead of the festival season.
“This festive season, we continue to be focussed on providing fast and reliable deliveries to customers in every serviceable pin code across India. For this, we have strengthened our fulfilment and logistics network with over 1.5 lakh additional people to help us manage increased customer demand efficiently,” said Abhinav Singh, VP, operations, India and Australia, Amazon, in a prepared statement.
These seasonal jobs include direct and indirect work opportunities to meet the needs at fulfilment centres, sort centres, and last-mile delivery stations across the country for online commerce platforms.
Meanwhile, Flipkart has opened up 220,000 seasonal jobs, and 15% of its new hires are first-time workforce entrants – roles include pickers, packers, sorters, and delivery executives.
“This year, we have strengthened our capabilities ahead of the festive season, focussing on building an inclusive workforce, expanding our supply chain people network, and creating more inclusive job opportunities in the ecosystem, backed by technology and sustainable practices,” said Seema Nair, chief human resource officer at Flipkart.
The flagship events — such as Amazon’s Great Indian Festival sale and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days — during the festival season typically account for almost half the gross merchandise value (GMV) these companies report in a year.
Also Read: Mid-year ecommerce sales spike sets the stage for cracking festive season
Last year, Amazon opened positions for 110,000 seasonal employees, and Flipkart, 100,000 jobs during that time. Based on the pre-festival season sales, companies have increased their seasonal hiring projections.
