Festive Season Hiring Expected To Rise By 15-20% As Quick Commerce, Retail Drive Demand

Temporary hiring across retail, e-commerce, quick commerce, logistics, FMCG and consumer durables is expected to rise by 15-20% during India’s festive season in 2026, with demand likely to be strongest in South and West India.

According to TeamLease Services’ Festive Season Workforce Report 2026, companies are moving away from large-scale volume recruitment alone and increasingly looking for workers who can quickly adapt to technology-driven, high-intensity operations.

The extended festive sales period, growing quick-commerce networks, omnichannel retail and expanding fulfilment infrastructure are expected to drive recruitment, the report said.

"We expect temporary hiring to grow on similar lines to last year (15-20%), supported by strong demand from e-commerce, retail, logistics, and quick commerce," said Balasubramanian A, Senior Vice President, TeamLease Services.

South And West To Lead Festive Hiring

Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad are likely to remain key hiring hubs during the festive season.

South India is projected to account for around 36.3% of the frontline workforce in 2026, followed by the North at 30.3%, West at 25.2% and East at 8.2%, the report said.

Hiring will increase in absolute terms across all regions, although percentage growth is expected to be higher in the South and West due to the expansion of e-commerce and quick-commerce operations, it added.

Further, Tier I cities are expected to account for 40.5% of the frontline workforce this year, up from 38.2% in 2025 and 33.1% in 2024, as dark stores and hyperlocal fulfilment networks continue to expand.

Warehouses, Dark Stores Drive Demand

Warehouse and fulfilment personnel, including pickers, packers and dark-store workers, are expected to see the strongest hiring demand, alongside retail associates, cashiers and store operations staff, the TeamLease report said.

Demand is also rising for in-store promoters and specialised roles such as inventory and fulfilment coordinators, warehouse automation operators and returns management executives as retail supply chains become more complex.

Salaries Expected To Rise

The report said median monthly CTC for frontline festive workers increased to ₹20,525 in the second half of 2025 from ₹20,282 a year earlier.

E-commerce, quick commerce and logistics offered the highest average monthly CTC at ₹24,266.

Frontline salaries could rise by 8-10% in the second half of 2026, although effective take-home pay may increase by around 5-8% following labour law changes, the report said.

Employers are increasingly using attendance bonuses, sale-event surge pay, referral rewards and productivity-linked incentives to retain workers during peak demand, the report said.

According to TeamLease, the bigger challenge this season is not talent availability but deployment readiness, including digital literacy and the ability of recruits to become productive quickly.

"The festive hiring season continues to evolve beyond volume hiring to precision hiring. Employers are focusing equally on speed, productivity, and customer experience, leading to increased demand for specialised operational roles," Balasubramanian said.

"Organisations are also investing more in incentives, digital onboarding, and workforce readiness to ensure seamless execution during the festive period," he added.