The Impact of E-commerce on UK job market

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - 10:54 by Simon Crisp

A study is being conducted by IMRG in order to determine the total number of people in the UK who are employed by the e-commerce industry.

The annual study found that in 2009 over 600,000 people in the UK were working for e-commerce firms, with more than 150,000 separate businesses offering tools and services directly related to safe shopping online.

Last year 78 per cent of these businesses said that they would be employing more staff members despite the fact that economic pressures were still affecting many other areas of the business world and so this year the survey will be looking to see whether these predictions have come to pass.

IMRG spokesperson Andy Mulcahy said that the growth of e-commerce in the UK was helping to create new jobs and fuel the economy in 2011. As such the survey is expected to conclude that the number of Brits who are employed by firms who provide safe shopping online has risen once more.

In the last survey it was discovered that when most e-commerce firms start doing business they employ around five people. On average each of the 150,000 e-commerce firms in the UK employed around 30 people and the results of the current survey will show whether or not this average level has risen.

2011 is going to be another year of growth for the e-commerce market but as government cuts begin to bite and the VAT rise plays a bigger part there may be greater pressure on the firms to offer affordability and convenience on smaller budgets and with slimmer profit margins.

The results of the survey should be published later this month after all respondents have completed the questionnaire and returned it to IMRG for further analysis.