jobfacts

Shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale

SOC 2020 7131

Shopkeepers and proprietors in this unit group co-ordinate, direct and undertake the activities in the running of small, independent retail and wholesale establishments.

Also calledBuilders' merchantManagerHosierDraperSeedsmanSupplierand 124 more titles
Typical full-time pay£36,3002025 Provisional
People in the job77,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month736↑ 42%on last year · 221st of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale earn, 2025
£36,300 typicaln/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%Not published
Median£36,300
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
More than half (78%) of shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale work for themselves. These pay figures only cover employees, so they may not reflect what self-employed shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale earn.
Typical pay by regionUK median £36,300
North West!£40,800
South West!£37,800
South East!£37,700
Scotland!£32,500
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £36,300
North West£40,800 (small sample)
South West£37,800 (small sample)
South East£37,700 (small sample)
Scotland£32,500 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £28,300
  • 2024 £34,400
  • 2025 Provisional£36,300
↑ 28% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 736 jobs for shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026911
Jul 2026968
Jun 20261,626
May 2026453
Apr 2026589
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026329
Jan 2026541
Dec 2025Not published
Nov 2025490
Oct 2025972
Sept 2025479
Aug 2025537
Jul 2025520
Jun 2025515
May 2025610
Apr 2025509
Mar 2025534
Feb 2025432
Jan 2025380
Dec 2024289
Nov 2024474
Oct 2024613
Sept 2024611
Aug 2024614
Jul 2024568
Jun 2024560
May 2024645
Apr 2024655
Mar 2024644
Feb 2024617
Jan 2024739
Dec 2023557
Nov 2023953
Oct 2023730
Sept 2023887
Aug 2023684
Jul 2023862
Jun 20231,284
May 20231,771
Apr 2023736
Mar 2023849
Feb 2023716
Jan 2023881
Dec 2022690
Nov 2022792
Oct 2022951
Sept 2022773
Aug 2022908
Jul 2022880
Jun 2022876
May 2022830
Apr 2022619
Mar 2022640
Feb 2022688
Jan 2022888
Dec 2021591
Nov 2021726
Oct 20211,030
Sept 2021624
Aug 2021575
Jul 2021882
Jun 2021573
May 2021553
Apr 2021762
Mar 2021526
Feb 2021294
Jan 2021340
Dec 2020271
Nov 2020295
Oct 2020340
Sept 2020363
Aug 2020338
Jul 2020426
Jun 2020491
May 2020545
Apr 2020502
Mar 2020737
Feb 2020650
Jan 2020659
Dec 2019499
Nov 2019653
Oct 2019621
Sept 2019696
Aug 2019747
Jul 2019854
Jun 2019816
May 2019808
Apr 2019546
Mar 2019683
Feb 2019635
Jan 2019795
Dec 2018550
Nov 2018778
Oct 2018868
Sept 2018838
Aug 2018741
Jul 2018818
Jun 2018840
May 2018867
Apr 2018755
Mar 2018911
Feb 2018860
Jan 20181,012
Dec 2017660
Nov 2017876
Oct 2017926
Sept 2017907
Aug 20171,033
Jul 2017744
Jun 20171,126
May 2017877
Apr 2017810
Mar 2017983
Feb 2017821
Jan 20171,001
Is there a shortage of shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthUsual
  • Pay against similar jobsAbove usual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, hours and earnings due to proportion of self employed workers.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
24%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for shopkeepers and sales supervisors, which includes shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London384
Manchester32
Wiltshire29
West Northamptonshire28
Birmingham26
Buckinghamshire26
Leeds24
North Yorkshire23
Cornwall20
Bristol, City of19
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Sri Lanka, India, United States, ranking it 213th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale
3.8%!
17%!
17%!
21%!
26%!
16%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–243.8% (small sample)
25–3417% (small sample)
35–4417% (small sample)
45–5421% (small sample)
55–6426% (small sample)
65+16% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent31%
Higher education below degree!10%
A levels or equivalent20%
GCSEs or equivalent23%
Other qualifications!6.6%
No qualifications!8.1%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent31%
Higher education below degree10% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent20%
GCSEs or equivalent23%
Other qualifications6.6% (small sample)
No qualifications8.1% (small sample)

Main employers: retail sale via mail order houses or via internet (11%), other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (8.9%), retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (8.6%), retail sale of second-hand goods in stores (8.6%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
31%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
1
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
1 year
typically
Self-employed
78%
of people in the job

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an apprenticeship with a building supplies company, such as:

  • Retail Service, Supply and Administration Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship
  • Trade Supplier Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship

You could also do a Hire Controller (plant, tools and equipment) Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship, if you want to work in construction plant hire.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More about this route
Foundation apprenticeship

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • are in care or have been in care
  • are in prison or have been in prison

Apply directly

You could apply directly to work as a builders' merchant.

Employers may want you to have GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including maths and English.

Experience in retail or warehousing could also be useful.

What you’ll need

  • have forklift truck driver training for some jobs

Some jobs with a builders' merchant may involve driving delivery trucks up to 7.5 tonnes. For these you'll need to have a category C1 driving licence.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

A background in the construction industry, for example painting and decorating or working with timber, could be helpful, though is not essential.

Good IT skills are useful for using computerised stock and booking systems but employers will give you training when you start.

Further information

You can find out more about working as a builders' merchant from Building Materials Careers, and working in construction equipment hire from Go Construct.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for builders' merchant. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • defines the market position for the business, decides what to sell, forecasts demand and develops the brand image of the business
  • determines staffing, financial, material and other short- and long-term requirements
  • oversees staff training, rotas and the allocation of work
  • provides information about merchandise to staff and customers and ensures customer complaints are appropriately dealt with
  • ensures that adequate reserves of merchandise are held and orders new stock as required
  • maintains financial and other shop records and controls security arrangements for the premises
  • authorises payment for supplies received and decides on vending price and credit terms
  • examines quality of merchandise and ensures that effective use is made of advertising and display facilities

Skills

  • analyse data for policy decisions in trade
  • build business relationships
  • control of expenses
  • develop business case
  • ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations
  • guarantee customer satisfaction
  • handle financial overviews of the store
  • identify suppliers
  • implement marketing strategies
  • implement sales strategies
  • manage financial risk
  • manage staff
  • monitor company policy
  • negotiate sales contracts

Knowledge

  • commercial law
  • law of obligation
  • accounting techniques
  • competition law
  • e-commerce systems
  • market pricing

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for sales occupations, a group of 13 jobs that includes shopkeepers and owners - retail and wholesale.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 12%about 255,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 2035671,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.