UK Ecommerce Managers Bullish on Prospects for 2009, Survey Finds

Published 20th May 2009

Ecommerce leaders are confident of expanding their teams and even receiving pay rises this year

London, 19 May, 2009 – UK Ecommerce managers are confident that they will either grow or maintain their teams this year and even receive pay increases, according to the findings of a survey out today. Despite the UK jobless total surpassing two million last month the vast majority (81 per cent) of Ecommerce managers are either ‘very confident’ or ‘quite confident’ that they could move companies if they wanted to in 2009.

These are just three of the findings from the Digital Industry Confidence Report 2009*, carried out by leading London-based digital recruitment and executive search consultancy, Bearing Partnership.

Main findings from the report include:

• 77 per cent of UK Ecommerce managers hit or exceeded their own sales targets during 2008
• 85 per cent of Ecommerce managers expect to either expand or maintain staffing levels this year. Encouragingly, the number which plans to expand (36 per cent) is more than twice the number who expect to cut digital staff (14 per cent) during 2009
• Almost half (46 per cent) of Ecommerce managers are either “very confident” or “quite confident” of a pay rise during 2009 with just over a quarter (27 per cent) not convinced that they can look forward to a salary increase this year
• That four in five (81 per cent) senior Ecommerce professionals are either “very confident” or “quite confident” that they could move companies in 2009 if they wanted to
• The most common length of tenure of Ecommerce roles is between 18 months and two years. The average length of time spent in the industry for Ecommerce directors being just under eight years, spending just under three years at any one company

Aryn Hurst-Clark, Director of Search and Selection at Bearing Partnership, believes the report contains positive news for both experienced digital professionals and those looking to carve out a career in the sector.

“Our research points to an industry which believes it will enjoy steady growth this year at a time when the wider UK economy is expected to shrink by 4.1 per cent**,” Hurst-Clark said. “Brands will need to service the growing demand for Ecommerce from consumers and, in an area currently suffering from a skills shortage, making the right staffing decisions will be critical to the company’s overall business success. Those companies that look closely at Ecommerce this year will reap the benefits when the economy picks up.”

* About the Bearing Partnership Digital Industry Confidence Report 2009: More than 100 Ecommerce managers from leading brands in the UK took part in the Bearing Partnership Digital Industry Confidence Report 2009 online survey during the spring of 2009. Between them, respondents manage £7.3 billion of Ecommerce revenue, more than 10 per cent of all UK ecommerce sales in 2008 (Nielsen, Comscore, Hitwise and others put UK business-to-consumer ecommerce sales, including downloads and tickets, at £59.8 billion for last year).

The full report can be sent on request or downloaded at http://www.bearingpartnership.com/?p=25

** International Monetary Fund, May 2009