Festive Spirit Spurs Hiring Rush
, retailers,
ecommerce platforms
and logistics firms have stepped up hiring requirements for the upcoming festive season by 20-25% more than last year, expecting a strong recovery in sales, said senior executives of companies and hiring firms. Gig and
temporary workers
will comprise the bulk of the hiring.
One of the largest ecommerce marketplaces plans to hire more than 75,000 workers, according to Adecco India. The staffing firm said ecommerce and logistics companies are leading the
festive season hiring
boom with a projected 30-35% surge in temporary hiring.
Companies in sectors such as retail, consumer goods, hospitality and tourism are also likely to expand their temporary workforces.
Electronic and smartphone companies such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Haier, and Godrej are all set to grow the count of retail store workers this festive season, according to industry executives, hinting at a revival in sales.
Talent company Randstad India forecasts gig roles to surpass 11 million this fiscal year. E-commerce, retail, logistics, and quick commerce are fuelling the uptick, it said, with a 35-40% surge in quick-commerce hiring and a 25–30% rise in e-commerce staffing. Last fiscal, it was around 10 million.
'We are anticipating a strong rebound in temporary staffing this festive season, with demand up 20–25% year-on-year as organisations work to recoup a softer summer sales period,' said Yeshab Giri, chief commercial officer (professional talent solutions) at Randstad India. 'The early arrival of key festivals has prompted companies to advance workforce planning, scaling up manpower well ahead of traditional timelines,' Giri said.
The festive season is the largest consumption period for India, accounting for 30-40% of annual sales for categories such as apparel and electronics. This year, the festive season is critical for companies as demand has remained weak for the past few quarters, and sales during summer too declined due to rains. Sales of electronic products, smartphones, apparel, fashion, FMCG products and even automobiles have at best grown in low single digit for the past 4-6 quarters.
Deepesh Gupta, director and head of general staffing at Adecco India said companies are ramping up hiring earlier than usual this year, anticipating a stronger festive demand starting from Raksha Bandhan (in August) through Diwali and Christmas. 'There's a strong emphasis on roles in customer service, delivery, warehousing, and digital support, especially as online shopping continues to grow,' he said.
Aakriti Chandra, vice president (Ekart, Minutes, CX, Recommerce, HR) at e-commerce platform Flipkart said there is a marked ramp-up in operational readiness across the board for the festive season, particularly in supply chain, last-mile logistics, and that the company has scaled up the workforce requirements. 'This year, with the festive period set to begin in August, our preparations are well underway,' she said.
Satish NS, president, Haier India, the country's third largest electronics maker said it is starting the process of hiring, training and deployment of more manpower early for the festive season. The company expects temporary workers to grow by at least 15% over last year.
Chief executives are hopeful demand will recover from the festive season quarter as consumers start reaping the benefits of an income tax rate cut, pent-up demand, positive rural sentiment with good harvest prospects due to a better monsoon, and post-election economic recovery.
Value fashion retail chain V-Mart Retail managing director Lalit Agarwal expects demand recovery to resume from the festive period, sustaining the momentum, helping drive demand for temporary workers at its stores by 15% from September onwards.
BNP Paribas India in a July report said urban discretionary consumption is well-placed this fiscal year due to a cut in income tax rate, lower loan rates, along with easing food inflation.
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