‘War for talent’ as retailers ready for the holidays
WASHINGTON — It’s only September, but the holiday hiring frenzy is in full swing.
For proof, just walk through the mall: “We’re hiring and we’d love to meet you,” signs outside Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids said on a recent weekday at Tysons Corner Center, a sprawling northern Virginia shopping mall just outside Washington, D.C.
“Make our house your home,” offered White House Black Market. “Join our team of outsiders,” urged L.L. Bean. The clothing chain Express was looking for “fashion lovers,” while the Lego store wanted “energetic, enthusiastic” employees.
Macy’s played up “bonus potential” for holiday hires, while McDonald’s promised perks such as free meals, $50 worth of monthly transit cards and “team celebrations.”
In other words: Retailers need help — and they’re desperate.
A historically low unemployment rate, coupled with projections for record-breaking holiday sales, means retailers, from major chains to small businesses, are being forced to offer higher pay and catchier perks to woo temporary holiday workers.
At stake is what is expected to be the strongest holiday season in years, as retailers look to cash in on a surge in consumer confidence. The unemployment rate is at historic lows, the stock market is at record highs and wages are inching higher, helping to boost sales at a number of bigname chains, including Walmart, Nordstrom and Home Depot. Holiday sales are expected to rise as much as 5.6 percent to a record $1.1 trillion, according to estimates from Deloitte.
“There is a definite war for talent,” said Andrew Challenger, a vice president at job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Just as we have this huge spike in consumer demand, retailers are dealing with tightest labor market in 45 years. Whether or not retailers can hire enough people this holiday season could have a real impact on their sales.”
In all, retailers are expected to hire 700,000 seasonal workers this holiday season, up 5 percent from last year, according to Challenger’s firm.
Nationally, retailers say they plan to pay as much as 54 percent more than they did a year ago, according to a survey of 1,000 hourly employers by Snag, an Arlingtonbased online staffing platform for hourly work.
They are increasingly offering a chance at other perks, too: $500 gift cards at Target, allexpenses-paid vacations to Miami and New York, as well as $5,000 “prize packages” at JCPenney. Beauty chain Ulta is giving holiday hires half-off haircuts, while Gap and Old Navy are advertising employee discounts of 50 percent, as well as backup child care and free flu shots. Williams Sonoma has declared September “national hiring month,” promising on-the-spot store interviews to anybody who wants one.
Kohl’s, which began hiring seasonal employees in July, is providing Thanksgiving Day workers with a turkey dinner and doling out gift cards for perfect attendance during the holidays. Also new this year: A designated shopping day when employees will get 35 percent off all purchases, including brands like KitchenAid and UnderArmour. (The retailer’s usual employee discount is 15 percent.)
“The number-one thing on our mind is that it’s competitive out there,” said Ryan Festerling, Kohl’s executive vice president of human resources. “The holiday season literally starts and ends with, how do we make sure we have the right amount of associates?”
Festerling added that the company has already hired “many, many thousands” of workers and will continue to do so through early November. The retailer plans to hire 90,000 workers this year, up from 69,000 two years ago.
“It’s an aggressive hiring plan,” Festerling said. “It has to be.”