Holiday hiring preparations are underway for at least two major retailers in anticipation of a busy online shopping season.
Kohl’s Corp., No. 22 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide, announced plans to hire 69,000 employees to help keep up with demand over the holiday season. Of those 69,000 seasonal employees, 9,500 will work in its e-commerce fulfillment and distribution centers, or 200 more than the company hired to work in those centers last year. Those who are working in Kohl’s retail locations will be counted on to help with online orders shipped to stores or fulfilled from store locations.
Kohl’s began offering buy online, pick up in store service at its 1,164 retail locations nationwide during the second quarter of fiscal 2015, which ended Aug. 1. A Kohl’s spokeswoman declined to specify how many of the newly created positions are specifically going to be supporting buy online, pick up in store.
“Based on early results, we now expect Buy Online, Pick Up in Store to be a significant percentage of our digital sales and a driver of incremental store traffic this holiday season,” CEO Kevin Mansell told analysts on Kohl’s Q2 2015 earnings call, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. “We are planning accordingly.”
Kohl’s started its seasonal hiring this month and said it expects to be finished before Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, Toys ‘R’ Us Inc., No. 40 in the Top 500, plans to add 40,000 mostly part-time seasonal employees across its 864 domestic retail locations and its distribution centers. A Toys ‘R’ Us spokeswoman says online sales growth has lead to expanded seasonal staffing at the retailer’s distribution centers, though she declined to specify by how much.
“Our expanded workforce, together with our more tenured toy experts, plays a pivotal role in ensuring we provide an exceptional experience for shoppers in search of gifts that will bring huge smiles to the children in their lives,” said CEO Dave Brandon, who heads into his first holiday season with the retailer after taking the helm in July.
Earlier this month, Toys ‘R’ Us cut its free shipping threshold on online orders to $19 from $49.
Favorite