Walmart, Target, and Kohl's are slated to hire an estimated 240,000 employees this holiday season — many of which will be dedicated to fulfilling online orders

• National retailers like Walmart, Target, and Kohl's are betting big on e-commerce this holiday season.
• Those three companies alone plan to hire an estimated 240,000 seasonal workers.
• Consumers in the US have increasingly come to rely on e-commerce during the coronavirus pandemic.

Walmart, Target, and Kohl's plan to hire a combined 240,000 seasonal workers for this year's expected holiday rush.

Initiating a hiring spree to help tackle the holiday bustle is a common practice for retailers. But this year, Walmart, Target, and Kohl's emphasized expanding their workforce for the specific task of bolstering e-commerce fulfillment.

Online shopping has surged during the coronavirus pandemic, and it's clear that major retailers believe that the trend will carry on through at least the remainder of the year. The hiring spree — which will encompass e-commerce-related roles in both distribution centers and stores — also demonstrates how retailers are increasingly relying on completing online purchases by leveraging their fleets of brick-and-mortar locations to fend off online-centric competitors like Amazon.

Walmart has hired around 500,000 new workers since the coronavirus pandemic began in March in the US. Earlier this month, the retail giant announced it would hire 20,000 seasonal e-commerce warehouse workers.

In a statement sent to Business Insider, Walmart Supply Chain Executive Vice President Greg Smith said the company wants to "ensure we're staffed and ready to help deliver that special gift to their loved ones while continuing to fulfill our customer's everyday needs."

Walmart's 20,000 open e-commerce warehouse jobs start at an hourly wage of $15.75, and the company said it will schedule shifts "as quickly as 48 hours from applying" for certain workers. After January 1, 2021, Walmart said that some seasonal workers will be converted to permanent employees.

Meanwhile, Target said it expects seasonal hiring for the holidays to be on par with 2019, according to a company press release.

"These important roles include processing freight to stores and fulfilling Target.com orders, including receiving, packing and loading, to make sure products reach our guests quickly," the statement said.

Target last year sought to hire 130,000 seasonal employees for the holidays. Of those jobs, 8,000 were set to be dedicated to the retailer's 39 distribution and fulfillment centers.

Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC that twice as many seasonal hires will be tasked with fulfillment center roles or in-store tasks like fulfilling curbside and in-store pickup during the holidays in 2020.

"Certainly, we continue to see the guests gravitate towards the ease and convenience and contact-free ways to shop through our digital channels," Cornell said.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Kohl's also anticipates that its seasonal hiring spree will resemble its push from last year. In 2019, the company hired around 90,000 seasonal workers.

"We know customers will be shopping online more than ever this year and we're staffing accordingly to support increased digital fulfillment efforts," said Marc Chini, Kohl's chief people officer, in a press release.

Are you working in retail this upcoming holiday season? Email Mstone@businessinsider.com with your thoughts.