Dick’s Sporting Goods said on Thursday it will hire up to 9,000 workers to cover the holiday season in its stores, 1,000 more than last year. The increase reportedly is due to an expected a jump in online orders and click-and-collect activity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Pennsylvania-based Dick’s expects in-store foot traffic to improve from earlier this year, but online sales continue to surge for the brand: second-quarter e-commerce sales nearly tripled, Dick’s said recently.
Ship-from-store orders accounted for three-quarters of all online orders in the quarter, Dick’s said.
The “vast majority” of new holiday season hires will work in stores, fulfilling curbside pick-up and ship-to-store orders or working at cash registers. Only about 250 of the new workers will be sent to distribution centers, Dick’s chief people officer Julie Lodge-Jarrett told Reuters.
As part of its hiring pitch, Dick’s plans to pay workers 15% more at least than the minimum wage of each state through the end of the year, also offering them discounts on Dick’s goods of up to 25%.
“In the vast majority of the states we already pay above minimum wage, even for our entry level position,” Lodge-Jarrett said.
The company said it would kick off most of its hiring nationwide on Oct. 14.
