E-commerce firms to hire more staff amid festive season

Hiring by the e-commerce ecosystem is expected to grow by 20-25% over the next three months as companies gear up for high festive season demand after the COVID-19 pandemic. The roles in demand are those high on delivery and tech-related skills to manage customer acquisition, engagement and retention for platform users.

Entry-level roles for customer service and management are driving maximum demand. Also, digital marketing will be another segment that will see high demand for professionals. E-commerce companies say that the overall consumer sentiment is positive and are anticipating good sales this year, which will boost hiring. Even though high inflation may cut some demand momentum, the hiring fraternity said that companies are optimistic that the sales will be better than in the last two years, and are therefore hiring.

Suchita Dutta, Executive Director of the Indian Staffing Federation said, “While inflation may impact, the festive season will not witness as much tapered response as was seen in the past two years. The hiring plans remain aggressive in the current quarter as after training and talent absorption, the workforce will need to be ready in time to meet the growth in demand.”

Shailesh Kumar, founder of CABT Logistics said that its partners currently earn from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 per month, depending on factors such as the number of deliveries completed, working hours and the distance they travel. He added, “This is a big leap from the Rs 10,000 – Rs 25,000 per month that the workers earned last year. Due to higher incentives, blue-collar workers’ incomes have increased by at least 25-30% on average compared with last year.”