Pallet Truck Shop, one of the country’s leading providers of pallet trucks and other manual handling equipment to a range of sectors, has welcomed the news that a supermarket giant has brought forward plans to improve its online operation by recruiting 150 digital and technology experts.
Earlier this week, the country’s second largest supermarket, Sainsbury’s, announced it was hiring a team of software developers and engineers to help cope with online demand. The team, which will be based at its office in Manchester’s Arndale centre and work with its 900-strong technology team in London and Coventry, will be responsible for providing a first class service to its customers via its online channels. The move comes after the supermarket more than doubled its digital and technology staff in the past year amid fierce competition for online sales from retail giants Amazon.
Phil Chesworth from Pallet Truck Shop said, “This continued investment is excellent news for the supermarket industry and the retail sector as a whole. Just as investing in good-quality physical equipment is important, investing in staff is imperative to a business. Many people see online sales as damaging to the jobs market, however this just shows how many more jobs can be created as a result of online growth. Online sales have been increasing rapidly over the last couple of years, and this highlights that large retailers are preparing for an even bigger 12 months.”
In an effort to gain market share in the fast growing online space, the retailer won its four-month battle to buy Argos owner Home Retail Group earlier this month. Aiming to create a retailer bigger than rivals John Lewis and Amazon UK, the supermarket giant agreed a £1.4 billion deal to create a “multi-product, multi-channel” business with around 2,000 stores, concessions and click-and-collect outlets. Other high street retailers who are stepping up their online shopping game include John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Tesco.