Retail

The retail sector is the part of the economy that is made up of businesses and individuals who are involved with selling products directly to consumers. It includes shops, department stores, supermarkets, market stalls, door-to-door salespeople and internet retailers.

There are over

jobs in this sector in Hull and East Yorkshire

This accounts for nearly

of jobs in the region

Did you know?

According to the British Retail Consortium, in 2025, the total value of retail sales in Great Britain was £492bn.
In terms of employment, retail is the third-largest sector in Hull and East Yorkshire, after manufacturing and engineering, and business and service. Since 2015, the number of jobs with companies in the retail sector in Hull and East Yorkshire has remained stable, growing by 1%.
In Hull and East Yorkshire, the largest retail sector employers include supermarkets and department stores (9,300 employees), motor vehicle sales, maintenance and repair services (6,665 employees), DIY, hardware and garden centres (4,835 employees), food retailers and wholesalers (3,085 employees), footwear and clothing retailers and wholesalers (2,655 employees), and homeware retailers and wholesalers (1,455 employees).
Since 2015, the retail sector employers with the largest increase in employment in Hull and East Yorkshire include those maintaining and repairing motor vehicles (1,860 additional jobs), DIY, hardware and garden centres (1,395 additional jobs), homeware retailers and wholesalers (495 additional jobs), fuel retailers and wholesalers (405 additional jobs), food retailers and wholesalers (225 additional jobs), and online retailers and mail-order businesses (200 additional jobs). Over the same period, employment in supermarkets and department stores has decreased by 2,100 jobs, and there were 800 fewer jobs with clothing and footwear retailers.
In December 2025, 28.3% of all retail sales took place online.

Source: British Retail Consortium, BRES (2025)

Will there be opportunities available?

In 2025, in Hull and East Yorkshire, demand for staff in the retail sector remained high. Sales and retail assistant was the sixth most advertised occupation by companies seeking to recruit staff, with 1,213 total online adverts; sales supervisor was the eighteenth most advertised, with 721; and managers and directors in retail and wholesale was the twenty-second most advertised, with 651.
Amazon opened a new fulfilment centre in Melton, East Yorkshire, in September 2025. They expect to create up to 2,000 jobs at the site, many of which will be highly skilled and well-paid.

Source: Lightcast (2026)

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