By Sreeradha Basu
Copyright indiatimes
Consumer electronics, ecommerce, automobile, retail, logistics, and fast-moving consumer goods makers are placing last-minute mandates to staffing firms for hiring additional temporary workers to prepare for a likely consumption boom during the ongoing festive season sparked by the roll-out of reduced GST rates from September 22.Industry executives say many consumers, who had deferred purchases so far, denting sales even at the onset of the festive season, are likely to now loosen their purse strings with companies announcing price cuts to pass on the lower goods and services tax (GST) rates on various goods.Optimistic of a sharp sales trajectory, companies have also enhanced advertising and marketing budgets to attract buyers. Staffing and talent firms including Quess, Randstad, and CIEL HR say frontline and fulfilment positions are most in demand. These include roles like in-shop demonstrators, field and retail sales staff, warehouse pickers, packers, last-mile delivery staff, service and technical roles such as installation technicians, and service engineers for appliances/electronics.Live EventsContact-centre and order-fulfilment back-office support personnel are also being scaled up to handle higher query volumes.”Several sectors that already ran festive hiring drives are now extending mandates and adding last-minute temp headcount in response to the GST rate cuts and the expected post-cut sales surge,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD of CIEL HR. “Demand is strongest in consumer durables, followed by auto and large BPO/CRM operations.”Shilpa Subhaschandra, chief commercial officer, operational talent solutions, Randstad India said the tax cuts are reshaping this year’s festive hiring.”We are seeing clients, particularly in ecommerce, quick-commerce, consumer electronics, auto, retail, logistics, and FMCG extend and add last-minute mandates beyond their original plans to capture the anticipated jump in festive sales,” said Subhaschandra. “On average, these additional mandates translate to a 20-25% uplift in temporary workforce requirements versus last year, with quick-commerce platforms showing the largest thrust, expanding headcount by 40-60% to handle surge volumes.”The festive season, which began with Onam in August and will run through Diwali, is the largest consumption period in India, generating 25-30% of annual sales for most consumer goods companies.However, sales during Onam in Kerala and also pre-Durga Puja in East India got affected this year as consumers held on their purchases expecting to benefit from the GST rate cut.Industry executives said they expect the sales surge to continue till Christmas as there will be a lot of pent-up demand.Retailers and electronic companies are adding up to 20% more temporary workers, anticipating a bump in demand from Navratri till Diwali. Auto companies including Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki are also among those putting in additional demand requirements, said staffing firms. Email queries to these companies did not elicit a response.Leading electronics retail chain Vijay Sales is expanding its temporary workforce by 10-15% this festive season, said Nilesh Gupta, director. He said the company expects increased demand for large-screen televisions and air conditioners where the GST rate has been cut from 28% to 18%.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
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