MARTINSVILLE (WSLS10) -- Business is booming for one local company thanks to an increase in clientele and e-commerce.
It was a record setting year when it comes to online holiday shopping. Cyber Monday sales topped $3 billion, setting a record for a single day of online sales.
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According to the Adobe's Digital Index, total online sales on cyber Monday were 16-percent higher than last year.
That means it's been a busy week for a local shipping company which works with dozens of major retailers like Bath and Body Works and Stein Mart.
Ebay Enterprises in Martinsville is in charge of shipping all of those items bought online to doors across the country.
While the sales may be over, the work in Martinsville is just beginning.
The hustle and bustle of the 500 people per shift workforce is tremendous inside the facility that is lined almost wall to wall with boxes and intricate conveyor belts carrying them to their next destination.
"It's a constant stream of boxes and if you look, it looks like these 24 hours a day, 7 days a week right now. And it will continue to look like this for the next two to three weeks," said Kim Smith-Glisson, Director of Operations.
Working at Ebay Enterprises'
massive warehouse full of automated assembly lines and hi-tech sorting equipment, Smith-Glisson has been in the business for 25 years.
She says online shopping has drastically changed the industry.
To say it's the company's busiest time of year is an understatement.
"We ship about 68-percent of our annual volume during October, November and December," Smith-Glisson said.
Cyber Monday is a big contributor to that number.
"It's a pretty significant increase during those months especially between Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas," Smith-Glisson said.
E-commerce has grown so much that each day during those months the facility ships out 2.1 million items. That's why the goal is to increase the facility's workforce for the holidays.
That's where Adecco Staffing comes in. The company recently expanded its workforce which aims to staff Ebay Enterprise. Jay Stricker is the Client Services Manager. He says the need for new employees drastically increases this time of year.
"It's been a little crazy, good crazy though," Stricker said.
While the maze of conveyor belts and sorting machinery takes the brunt of the load, it can't be done without the hands of hundreds of employees. Adecco has hired 1,500 hundred employees already and is looking for 300 more immediate positions to help keep up with the demand.
"The enterprise of Ebay is blowing up, especially around this time of year. E-commerce is globally up and as a result, we are experiencing that growth," Sticker said.
Ebay has added more big name companies to its
clientele list and it's paying off. The business has doubled in the past year.
As online shopping continues to grow, so does the business there, as well as the number of job opportunities.