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May- 2021 -14 May
The return to the high street: friend or foe?
With our clocks adjusted to British Summer Time and Government guidelines easing off shopping restrictions for non-essential shopping, the return to the high street is back in swing. However, with non-essential shops implementing social distancing measures to ensure they remain as safe as they can be, the handling of stock…
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12 May
How to benefit from the forthcoming massive wave of ad spend
The recent IPA Bellwether on marketing budgets in the UK has revealed that 2020 saw a fast paced decrease in spend as the effects of the pandemic naturally hit home. Now, as we continue to emerge from the worst of the effects, their forecasts are that there will be a…
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11 May
Plastic Packaging Tax revenues should be reinvested in retail
It’s now less than 12 months until UK retailers face paying a new levy on plastic packaging, with this set to raise hundreds of millions in tax revenues. This money should be shared with retailers to help further improve recycling and sustainability. UK Plastic Packaging Tax explained From 1 April…
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7 May
How Amazon delivered a smart retail customer experience with a human touch
Competition in modern retail is all about customer experience, and during the pandemic e-commerce and digital retail has accelerated rapidly, creating new customer expectations around digital experiences. According to the ONS, online retail sales grew by 46% in 2020 compared to the previous year – the largest increase since 2008.…
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5 May
Why space is so important to D2C retailers
It seems like there’s a gold rush at the moment for warehouse and fulfilment space as online retailers and direct-to-consumer operators wrestle for every last inch of viable commercial space across the UK. Research by Knight Frank backs this up, with 40 million square foot of new commercial space slated…
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Apr- 2021 -28 April
Unlocking the future of in-store shopping – with our phones
Amazon Fresh still seems surreal (at least for some shoppers, for whom it feels a bit too closely like theft!). It’s a relatively new concept in the UK, with just three Amazon stores live at time of writing. But everything else surrounding the Fresh concept is already second nature, and…
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26 April
Tackling the new user, missed opportunity phenomenon
In a turbulent year, retailers have faced both famine (with retail stores closing) and feast (with the spike in online shopping) as they adapted to the restrictions and opportunities created by Covid-19. Our research shows that in the past 12 months the number of first-time online shoppers has doubled. However,…
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23 April
Getting ready for the post-covid retail boom
From being in the grip of the second wave in a bleak mid-Winter two months ago with so much uncertainty and anxiety there really has been a remarkable turnaround due to the determination of all to fix this situation. A majority of the population have been vaccinated and sunnier days…
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22 April
SCA exemptions: A merchant’s best friend, with complications
When it comes to online commerce, much of Europe is living in a new payment regulation era — and the UK will soon follow. It’s an era of two-factor authentication, exemptions, step-ups, transaction legs that are either in or out — and a more secure ecommerce shopping experience for consumers.…
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20 April
How retailers can ensure frictionless trade despite Brexit paperwork boom
Despite the promises, both anecdotal and data-backed evidence suggests that the UK’s transition out of the European Union has not been as smoothed as hoped. Official government figures state that exports of goods to the EU fell by 40% in January 2021, with imports dropping 29%. The Federation of Small…
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