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May- 2019 -29 May
Payments: the key to personalisation in retail
Retailers are cost-cutting, trialling customer policies and experimenting with tech such as smart mirrors in the aim of securing their future. Cutting through the noise and getting through to customers is critical, but also easier said than done. You just need to look at ASOS updating their extended returns to…
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29 May
Disrupting physical: Who needs a store?
Only a few months ago, I was discussing the longevity of the high street with an e-commerce director at a luxury furniture retailer. Recalling the closing down sales in my local House of Fraser, I suggested it was just the beginning of an industry-wide revolution. His response surprised me. “It’s…
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24 May
Achieving sustainable growth through digital in an unstable time
How much do you use your smartphone? I recently tracked my own personal usage and found that I use my phone for about three hours a day, receiving around 250 notifications and unlocking my phone around 100 times in the process. I’m sure these numbers would be relatable to many…
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24 May
Pivoting on experience to revive the UK high-street
It’s no secret that it’s a troubling time for the UK high-street. The recent news that Boots might be considering store closures globally following “its most difficult quarter” since the retailer’s formation is the latest brushstroke of a much larger picture. Global Data, the market research firm, points the reason…
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23 May
How a data-driven locally optimised digital strategy can save high street retailers
In a challenging environment on the high street, it is vital for retailers to optimise their digital marketing to attract local shoppers. Yet many big-name brands are failing in the attention to detail needed to properly promote their physical stores in online advertising. Some have paid the ultimate price. Recent…
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22 May
Is retail cashing out on PoS?
Last month saw Sainsbury launch the UK’s first till-free store, with its Holborn Circus store in London undergoing a complete refurbishment to remove the checkout area and tills. The three-month trial at the store, where 82% of transactions were cashless prior to the start of the trial, allows shoppers to…
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21 May
Retail landlords must stay focused in the face of CVAs
Recently announcing its restructuring plans, Debenhams has joined a long line of casualties for the UK High Street. With the culture of company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) still apparent, it is often the commercial landlords who find themselves left high and dry, faced with losing tenants and slashes to their rental…
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17 May
How Making Tax Digital is going to help the retail sector
Shop closures are an all too familiar scene. A recent study by The Guardian found that English and Welsh town centres have lost 8% of their shops on average since 2013 (equating to 40 shops per town centre). While the sector is riding the waves of a storm, the digitisation…
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17 May
Brands vs the people: the rise of independent online retailers
After the hard knock the UK’s retail sector took following the 2008 financial crash, things are finally starting to look brighter. Consumers are driving this up-turn with their clicks; with the majority of Gen Z and Millennials now choosing to do most of their shopping online. This year, more than…
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16 May
The state of the UK high street in 2019
We may only be in the first half of the 2019 but there has already been a continuation of 2018’s disastrous year for the UK high street. In recent weeks we’ve seen Debenhams slide into administration with other household names like fashion retailer Select and off-license group Oddbins both close…
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