Festive hiring set to rise 15-20% as frontline roles get more specialised
- IBEF
- August 13, 2026
Temporary hiring across organised retail, e-commerce, quick commerce, logistics, FMCG and consumer durables is expected to increase by 15–20% during the 2026 festive season, according to TeamLease Services’ Festive Season Workforce Report 2026. The hiring trend is shifting from volume-based recruitment towards specialised frontline roles as businesses prepare for an extended festive calendar, faster fulfilment requirements and increasingly omnichannel consumer journeys. Festive e-commerce GMV crossed Rs. 1.2 lakh crore (US$ 13.58 billion) last season, while quick commerce increased its share of festive spending to 12% from 8% a year earlier. Employers are therefore building workforces capable of supporting sustained demand across extended sale periods, from Independence Day through Diwali and the year-end holiday season. TeamLease expects frontline salaries to increase by 8–10% during H2 2026, while effective take-home pay could rise by 5–8% due to labour law changes. Median monthly CTC for frontline festive workers is Rs. 20,525 (US$ 232.26) in H2 2025 from Rs. 20,282 (US$ 234.48) a year earlier.
Hiring demand is expected to remain strongest in South and West India, led by Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad, while workforce additions are expected across all regions. Tier-1 metros are projected to account for 40.5% of the frontline workforce in 2026, compared with 38.2% in 2025 and 33.1% in 2024, while Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets are expected to account for 26.5% and 33%, respectively. Warehouse pickers, packers and dark-store personnel are expected to remain the largest hiring categories, followed by in-store promoters, retail associates, cashiers and store operations executives. Demand is also increasing for inventory and fulfilment coordinators, warehouse automation operators and returns management executives, reflecting the growing sophistication of retail supply chains. Employers are also using attendance bonuses, surge pay, referral incentives, productivity-linked rewards, digital learning, paperless onboarding and cross-functional training to improve workforce readiness and retention. The report is based on anonymised employment records of around 60,000 frontline associates deployed during the festive season.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
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