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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Jun- 2020 -19 June
How e-commerce can maintain business continuity in the face of Covid-19
Covid-19 and the government stay-at-home and shutdown orders have wreaked havoc on the retail industry. Footfall was down 44.7% in March. High street stores without ecommerce operations saw sales collapse. Primark, for instance, saw its monthly sales of £650m a month evaporate. And whilst ecommerce retailers have the advantage of…
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19 June
How email can save the high street
According to IMRG, online sales in the UK grew by just 6.7% in 2019. The current pandemic, though, helped online retail sales soar to ten year high. A recent press release by IMRG reports growth to a “staggering +23.8% Year-on-Year (YoY) in April 2020, as high streets across the country…
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19 June
Retailers must ensure the mental health of their workforce is a top priority
According to the World Health Organisation, in recent years depression has crept up the ladder to become the most common cause of ill health & disability worldwide. In the UK, at any time, one in six adults reports themselves as suffering from depression or anxiety or phobia or OCD, (that…
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19 June
Making the UK workplace COVID safe
Rumours of the imminent return of the hospitality sector may have been overstated. Many operators may be ready to open in some shape or other after weeks of painstaking planning to ensure that premises can trade. But until employees are back off furlough, premises have been deep cleaned and the…
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18 June
Temperature checking employees – don’t get your fingers burnt in an employment tribunal
As lockdown eases, retailers are looking closely at sensible practical measures that they can implement to help minimise the risk of Covid-19 spreading within workplaces. Many lessons have been learnt from the experiences of essential retailers who have either stayed open throughout the pandemic, or who have now reopened their…
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17 June
The need for speed – How retailers can respond to consumers’ ‘mobile-first’ behaviour
The retail landscape has been altered beyond all recognition in the light of COVID. The fact that things won’t go back to how they were was recently acknowledged by the CEO of M&S Steve Rowe. He envisaged a future where customers “may never shop the same way again” after the…
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16 June
HMRC – our helpful friend in difficult times?
It is true to say HMRC are showing a fair amount of understanding in these difficult times. They have been asked to put together mechanisms to allow furlough payments and business grants to be claimed. However, it is not surprising that given the time frames the system has not been…
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11 June
Beat the business lockdown blues with these four quick brand creation steps
The ‘New Normal’ that everyone is talking about doesn’t look like it’s going to be up and running for a while yet. Sure, some non-essential shops are opening, but a lot of businesses should be prepared for reduced customer activity and tightened purse-strings. These four straightforward tips can help you…
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11 June
How smart retailers are pivoting to meet the demands of consumers today
‘Hoarding’ may be the term most associated with Covid-19 consumerism, but beyond toilet paper and soap, consumer buying behavior has shifted significantly in recent months – and brands are responding. Aside from increasing inventory for what are deemed “essential” items today to meet skyrocketing demand, brands are leaning into digital…
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11 June
Retail experience will never be the same
While COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the UK’s retail sector, it should not come as a surprise to see the high street in peril. Even prior to the outbreak, retailers had endured a torrid twelve months – a poor Christmas period had led into a traditionally weaker opening…
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