India’s Retail Workforce Poised for Structural Shift as Sector Nears USD 2 Trillion by 2030

New V5 Global report highlights Tier-2 hiring surge, rise in women’s participation, and growing demand for digital and analytics talent

New Delhi, India: India’s retail sector is entering a phase of rapid transformation, set to nearly double in size over the next decade while fundamentally reshaping employment across the country, according to India’s Retail Workforce: Entering a Decade of Disruption, a new report developed by V5 Global, a brand of FirstMeridian Business Services Limited.

The report projects India’s retail market to expand from US$1.18 trillion in 2025 to nearly US$2 trillion by 2030, driven by formalization, technology adoption, and the accelerated growth of organized retail. Retail already employs 35 million people, making it India’s second-largest job creator, and is expected to add 25 million new jobs by the end of the decade.

As the sector scales, workforce capability is emerging as a defining differentiator. “India’s retail story is no longer about store counts—it’s about skill counts,” said Manmeet Singh, CEO, FirstMeridian Global, noting that the next decade will belong to retailers who can turn frontline associates into experience creators while building future-ready talent.

Tier-2 Cities and Women Power the Next Wave of Growth

One of the most significant shifts highlighted in the report is the acceleration of hiring beyond metros. Tier-2 cities such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Coimbatore, and Nagpur are recording over 40% hiring growth, outpacing traditional urban centers and emerging as critical consumption and employment hubs.

Reflecting on this trend, Amit Jain, Chief Evangelist, FirstMeridian Global, said India’s hiring landscape is being reshaped by the rapid rise of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, unlocking inclusion, aspiration, and productivity at scale. According to him, this transition marks the democratization of India’s workforce and will power the next phase of national growth.

Women’s participation in retail has also increased by 23%, supported by flexible schedules, gig formats, and expanding opportunities in customer-facing roles across fashion, beauty, and e-commerce. While progress is evident, the report notes that gender representation and wage parity remain areas requiring sustained focus.

Digital Skills Emerge as the New Talent Bottleneck

While frontline roles will continue to account for 70–75% of retail employment, the report flags a growing demand-supply gap in mid- and high-skill roles. Demand for analytics, CRM, omnichannel management, and AI-led personalization is expected to grow 2.5× by 2030, even as supply lags.

With 73% of purchase decisions digitally influenced and e-commerce projected to reach US$325 billion by 2030, retailers are increasingly seeking talent that blends customer engagement with data and technology. As Mani Kumar Sharma, COO, FirstMeridian Global, observes, trade marketing in India is entering a phase “where creativity meets data and execution meets intelligence,” with analytics-led insights, loyalty ecosystems, and technology-enabled engagement defining competitive advantage at the point of sale.

Festive Hiring Becomes Strategic, Not Seasonal

The report estimates that over 2.16 lakh seasonal jobs will be created in H2 2025, underscoring that festive hiring has evolved into a structural workforce lever rather than a short-term spike. Retail also accounts for 38–40% of India’s gig workforce, reinforcing its role as the backbone of flexible employment in the digital economy.

About the Report

India’s Retail Workforce: Entering a Decade of Disruption draws on internal workforce data, market intelligence, and sector-level analysis across organized retail, trade marketing, logistics, and the gig economy in India. It offers a forward-looking assessment of workforce trends through 2030, with implications for retailers, brands, policymakers, and talent leaders.

The full report can be accessed here: https://v5global.com/reports-files/Indias_Retail_Workforce_Entering_a_Decade_of_Disruption.pdf

About V5 Global

V5 Global, a brand under FirstMeridian Business Services Limited, is a leading provider of retail workforce and trade marketing solutions in India. With a strong on-ground presence across metros and Tier-2/3 markets, V5 Global works with several of the country’s most reputed consumer and retail brands, enabling large-scale workforce deployment, capability building, and technology-led execution across the retail value chain.

Media Contact:

FirstMeridian Global Services Pvt. Ltd.
Email: sales@firstmeridianglobal.com
Website: www.firstmeridianglobal.com