Comment
Comment features expert perspectives and thought leadership from across the UK retail industry. This section includes opinion pieces, analysis, and commentary from senior retail executives, analysts, and sector specialists on the commercial, strategic, and operational forces shaping retail. Retail Sector’s Comment coverage explores issues such as consumer behaviour shifts, technology adoption, sustainability, regulation, and leadership — providing retail professionals with authoritative insight to inform decision-making and strategic planning.
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Aug- 2020 -25 August
The three waves for retailers
Retailers don’t have the luxury of focusing solely on the short-term impact of Covid-19. The familiar retail experience that we’ve come to known will evolve and many of the changes the industry is implementing to counter the effects of the pandemic will become permanent, resulting in a new normal. We’ve…
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20 August
How retailers can use feedback during a crisis to strengthen their brand
It’s no secret that the retail industry has been severely affected by Covid-19-related shutdowns and a crumbling economy. Despite non-essential retail being allowed to open its brick-and-mortar stores, there is still much uncertainty about what exactly lies ahead for the sector. Pair this with the pressure of ensuring brand survival…
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19 August
Security: The new experience shoppers are seeking in the ‘new normal’?
Retailers have been battling COVID-19 for months. Many traditional brick-and-mortar stores closed. Workforces were scattered — either furloughed or required to work from home. Meantime, online sales have provided a lifeline, as dramatic e-commerce spikes helped firms navigate these trying times. Now, with physical stores starting to reopen, more disruption…
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18 August
How retailers can tap into the growing power of influencers
Retailers across the globe have been pulling advertising from Facebook (and Instagram) . The social media platform is under heavy criticism for its failure to tackle hate speech. Retailers have taken a stand – along with about 1,000 other brands and agencies – in protest and have withdrawn from advertising.…
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13 August
New retail technology and its potential for ‘on the ground’ data collection
It was reported recently that Amazon will open 10 till-free UK stores, with shoppers scanning items as they go and paying via their Amazon accounts. Similarly, Sainsbury’s has announced a trial virtual queuing system using a third-party app, and an expanded mobile payment scheme offering increased availability of till-free shopping. This…
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Jul- 2020 -31 July
Reopening retail: Four ways to embrace creativity, safely
Reopening retail; four ways to embrace creativity, safely Meredith O’Shaughnessy, Creative Brand and Retail Strategist at Meredith Collective Coronavirus has been the final reckoning for great swathes of retail, and it’s been brutal. Some high street stalwarts (Warehouse, Oasis, Accessorise) won’t open their doors again. Others are tentatively reopening but…
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28 July
Automation: How it helps retailers cut costs and remain agile
Retail operations are more expensive to run in a post-Covid world due to the extra demands of cleaning throughout the day and managing access to achieve the maximum occupation numbers. And on top of all of all of this, lower footfall and sales than usual. As the old saying goes,…
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22 July
Ensuring digital accessibility is part of the retail journey
The rapid acceleration of digital transformation has been one of the most remarkable aspects of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, with people literally Zooming to stay in touch and accessing online products and services in unprecedented numbers. There is little doubt that the coronavirus has dealt a devastating…
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21 July
How to get consumers spending? Make them feel a million dollars again
On Thursday 19 March, I found myself driving as fast as I could up the A12 towards the Suffolk countryside. After a ‘hot tip-off’ that a lockdown was coming, we packed the cars, abandoned our London flat and decided to batten down the hatches amongst the green pastures of East…
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20 July
Post-lockdown: keeping business afloat
Lawyers predict that 1 in 10 SMEs is set to collapse post-lockdown. This harsh reality means burying heads in sand is not an option and steps – some difficult – must be taken sooner rather than later to protect against the looming slump. Recent news that household names such as…
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