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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Jul- 2019 -5 July
Why retailers should consider implementing AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) along with other digital technologies has fully changed the retail landscape forever because it is enabling new and exciting opportunities, the likes of which have never been seen before. AI is enabling an end-to-end service to customers, meaning those retailers which haven’t already should fully consider implementing…
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2 July
How to make the most of empty retail spaces
Earlier in this month, The Times reported that the number of vacant shops on UK high streets rose by more than 7,500 last year, fuelled in part by store closures from large retailers such as Mothercare, New Look and House of Fraser. Debenhams then announced that it will downsize at…
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2 July
Who will lead the high street resurrection?
We may never know what Nietzsche thought of the UK retail sector. However, with today’s troubles, there is a good chance that he may well have felt the need to update his famous quote; ”the high street is dead… and we have killed it.” Walk down any UK high street…
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2 July
How online marketplaces are driving secondary market growth
Returned and excess stock is a problem for every retailer: in the UK alone £60bn of stock is returned each year. Whether a global retailer or a smaller specialty shop, most companies undervalue their returned and excess stock by 30-80%. Worse, when it comes to damaged or obsolete goods, a…
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1 July
Retail doesn’t need a level playing field, it needs nurtured players
Barely a day goes by without another news story about a high street name in trouble. There’s no doubt that the Great British High Street is undergoing a tumultuous period. But there’s still a lot of debate about what precisely underlying cause of these issues are. Much has been made…
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Jun- 2019 -28 June
Why leveraging fraud prevention data can enhance your customer experience
Ecommerce professionals are constantly measuring success by focusing intently on click-throughs, conversions and sales. They pay close attention to the cost of acquiring customers and the value those customers bring to the business. Sometimes it seems the entire retail game is about turning browsers into buyers. And that makes sense.…
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27 June
Using packaging to fight back and drive sales
According to the latest British Retail Consortium figures, May 2019 saw the UK high streets biggest decline since the mid-1990s with overall retail sales falling by 2.7%. This was also reflected online where sales grew by the weakest amount ever recorded. There is no question that retail conditions are extremely…
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26 June
How technology has boosted the retail supply chain
In today’s world of digital marketing and both on and offline competition, technology is growing in importance for retail businesses. But how has it affected the supply chain specifically? Read on as we explore how technology has transformed and helped businesses maximise their supply chain efficiency, including making deliveries speedier…
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25 June
Turning savvy shoppers into loyal customers
Omnichannel shopping has presented retailers with new opportunities to utilise a multitude of customer touchpoints relating to purchases, offers and product launches, to push their brand to the forefront of consumers’ minds and obtain mass customer engagement data, often within a single day. This data can be utilised by brands…
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24 June
Why experiential retail has never been more important
Picture the scene: A 400m maze with 8ft high walls and a tree-house retreat as its centrepiece, with yoga sessions held on its roof; immersive, interactive light shows that enchant young and old alike; exclusive events with global online influencers and 90s boyband popstars. These types of experiences are a…
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