The Consumer and Retail sector ended 2023 with a growth of 4.1%, exceeding the average of the Brazilian economy, according to data from SBVC Robert Half's Consumer and Retail Sector Panorama it reveals that new technologies, business models and profound changes in consumer habits are generating new demands and attracting different profiles of professionals, which creates significant opportunities and challenges in people management.
M&As transform companies
The search for scale gains and competitiveness drove a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the sector. In 2023, the segment accounted for 9.2% of all operations, with a growth of almost 34% compared to the previous year, according to KPMG. This occurred in a scenario where the number of mergers and acquisitions, as a whole, fell 13%. In addition, the organic expansion of the main players included the opening of new units, investments in e-commerce and the creation of franchises.
“Many regional and local companies have become controlled by large corporations, some publicly traded, with foreign shareholders or investment funds. This has resulted in an abrupt transition from family management models, informal and based on the culture of the founders, to professionalized systems with structured processes, use of robust ERPs, CRM, attention to compliance and sophisticated” marketing tools, says Leonardo Berto, Branch Manager at Robert Half.
In parallel, unacquired companies were also forced to modernize their operations to remain competitive, which increased the demand for high-ranking executives and professionals with updated profiles in the areas of governance, including compliance and finance.
Digital transformation requires new skills
Retail has increasingly evolved towards an approach omnichannel, which integrates online and offline channels to provide a consistent experience throughout the customer's purchase journey. According to Berto, “ the main difficulty is that this approach demands new professional specializations, such as IT, customer success, user experience, business intelligence (BI) and artificial intelligence, skills previously not present in the sector, but that are now extremely requested”.
The impact of digitalization is so relevant that, between 2019 and 2023, the occupations with the highest growth of vacancies in the sector are linked to e-commerce, according to the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC).
Verticalization of operations generates new demands
In pursuit of increasing their profit margins, large retail companies are taking control of more steps in the value chain, absorbing the profitability that was previously aimed at third parties.
“Redes retail are creating their own credit cards, retaining the rates and interest that previously paid banks.In addition, they are developing their own brands, from cleaning products to clothes, and incorporating the profits that previously went to manufacturers. Following the same logic, they create marketplaces and set up logistics structures”, explains Berto.
This strategy increases the need to hire new professional profiles, although companies do not yet have the expertise to select them effectively.
Challenges on the near horizon
While many digital companies were born with a hybrid or flexible work culture, in the Consumer and Retail sector the tradition is 100% face-to-face work. Until the beginning of the pandemic, this did not pose a problem for recruitment in this which is one of the sectors that most employ in the country. However, the transformation of the segment made companies need to seek talent from cultures that prioritize less physical presence, such as programmers, BI analysts and marketing professionals.
Retail is also known to operate with tight margins, resulting in limited compensation and benefits, especially at the base and in the middle of the organizational pyramid. The pace of work in the sector is accelerated and not all professionals adapt, which contributes to a high turnover 36% in 2023, according to SBVC.
Finally, the companies in the segment, especially the larger ones, have expanded the geographic reach of their operations, both through new stores and showrooms and by incorporating stages of the production chain, which brought an additional challenge: filling vacancies located outside the large shopping centers.
Most sought after professionals (permanent and by projects)
Hard skills (technical skills) most in demand
- Data Analysis and Statistics
- Digital Marketing
- SEO
- Software Development and Programming
- Supply Chain Management
Soft skills (behavioral skills) most in demand
- Communication
- Adaptability
- Critical Thinking
- Interpersonal Skills
- Troubleshooting
Salary projections
Average salaries (in reais) in the Consumer and Retail sectors, drawn from interviews and market knowledge of Robert Half experts, can be consulted here.
