Online Retail Hits Highest Share Since 2021: What It Means for Ecommerce Hiring
Online retail is back at its highest share since 2021
The latest Office for National Statistics retail sales bulletin puts online at 29.4% of Great Britain retail sales in June, up from 28.9% in May. You have to go back to April 2021 for a higher figure.
The numbers
- Online spend up 14.4% on June 2025, and up 11.7% across Q2 year on year
- Overall sales volumes up 1.0% on the month, and 4.2% on June 2025
- Clothing stores up 1.9%, their best month since September 2025
- UK footfall down 3.4% year on year, with high streets down 6.2% (BRC-Sensormatic)
The ONS credits sales promotions and the second warmest June on record, with demand for outdoor goods, fans, air conditioning and sports merchandise.
But the value figures tell the more interesting story. Shoppers were not simply moving the same basket online, they were spending more while they were there.
What this means for hiring
Demand spikes like this expose the platform underneath: peak readiness, checkout and payments, search and merchandising, product data quality, fulfilment integration. When online carries close to a third of trade, none of that is a back office concern.
We are already seeing retailers and their implementation partners move on digital trading, ecommerce platform and CX skills ahead of the golden quarter. Contract and interim first, permanent where the roadmap is funded.
If you are planning ecommerce or platform hiring for Q3 and Q4, it is worth starting the conversation now rather than in October.
Get in touch with Staffworx to talk through your Q3/Q4 ecommerce and platform hiring plans.
