Retail / news
Retailers Rework Holiday Hiring as Sales Forecast Tops $1 Trillion
U.S. retailers and logistics operators are adding seasonal staff with more targeted, flexible plans as holiday sales are projected to exceed $1 trillion for the first time. Companies are balancing store roles with fulfillment and cross-training needs.
The National Retail Federation’s latest forecast puts holiday retail sales above $1 trillion this year, a first. That expectation is shaping how retailers and logistics providers build their peak-season workforces, with flexible staffing and logistics cross-training replacing broad headcount surges.
UPS plans to hire 100,000 workers over the next few months to handle peak shipping demand. Amazon intends to add 300,000 seasonal, part-time and full-time workers in the U.S. during the holiday period, 20% more than the same period last year.
Store chains including Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Foot Locker have started staffing up. Spirit Halloween is hiring more than 52,000 seasonal associates across 1,500 U.S. and Canadian stores, its largest hiring effort to date.
Michaels began hiring for more than 10,000 roles in September. The craft retailer said nearly 50% of seasonal positions converted to permanent roles after last year’s holiday season.
Savannah Wei Shi, professor of marketing at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, said the key takeaway is not top-line seasonal headcount totals but how selectively retailers are allocating labor across channels.