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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Sep- 2018 -11 September
The escalating issue of ‘serial returners’
Retailers are already under intense pressure, from reduced margins to competition from online giants, and now they face another woe: the rise of the so-called ‘serial returners’, who deliberately buy more items than they intend to keep and return them days later. Brightpearl we recently surveyed 2,000 consumers across the…
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10 September
The irreversible effect of technology on shopping
The world of retail has been fast-tracked into the digital age, thanks to the internet and e-commerce. Sales online have surged, and the high street is struggling to keep up. But it’s not just sales that the online world offers, but reassurance – data revealed that for 2015 to 2017,…
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7 September
Enhancing the in-store sales process in retail
It’s no surprise that consumers around the world will collectively spend $2.842bn online by the end of 2018 — as stores continue to remove themselves from the high street and opt for digital alternatives. As more ecommerce websites continue to rise in numbers, spend is set to increase further to…
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6 September
Why an API ending is the answer
Amazon, Etsy and eBay: just a few of the well-known online brands that have long frustrated traditional bricks and mortar retailers. These companies have dominated the digital age for the past decade through their focus on online shopping, managing to avoid all of the costs involved in high street stores.…
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5 September
Marketing your business for annual events
If you haven’t started already, now is the time to begin planning your marketing campaign for some of the biggest events of the year. As a business, it’s crucial that you get in on all of the action that could lead to a boost of sales — whether this is…
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4 September
How retailers can turn the store of the future into a reality
The face of retail is rapidly changing with a significant increase in online shopping and reduced footfall in high-street stores. But rather than fighting against online retail, brands are using technology to offer a version of what draws customers to the online experience. Many retailers are re-imagining the brick-and-mortar shopping…
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Aug- 2018 -31 August
Can VAT help save the High Street?
There are growing calls for an ‘online sales tax’ (OST) to redress the balance between physical and digital retailing but a fiscal solution may have to be more intricate – and how VAT is levied may be part of the answer. We’re all familiar with being asked in sandwich bars…
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30 August
How accessible are shopping centres in the UK?
In 2016, the UK’s population peaked at 65.6 million. Reportedly, 18% of the population were aged 65 and over. With an ageing population, are businesses accommodating for elderly people and their differing needs? Similarly, are they making themselves accessible to those with disabilities? Despite Britain’s disabled population having a spending…
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29 August
What is nudging, and how can it boost sales?
It’s been a decade since the book Nudge was published and the term ‘nudging’ became a useful verb in the vocabularies of behavioural economists, psychologists and policymakers alike. A ‘nudge’ is a term used to describe any change in the environment which steers an individual’s behaviour in a predictable way…
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28 August
How to win customer loyalty
Retail today is nothing like the shops we visited 30, 20 or even 10 years ago. Not only is much of the industry now online, but even physical stores are being completely revamped from what they once were. It’s no longer just about a purchase. Retailers are offering their clients…
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