Online & Digital
The latest news, updates and analysis on the online and digital segment of the the UK retail industry. Sign up to the Daily Briefing and let Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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Oct- 2018 -4 October
Ebay accuses Amazon of ‘unlawfully’ poaching sellers
Online marketplace Ebay has accused rival website Amazon of attempting to poach independent sellers from its site using “unlawful and troubling” methods. Over a number of years in numerous countries, including the UK, Ebay alleges that 50 Amazon employees have been using eBay’s seller messaging platform to encourage sellers to…
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4 October
Lightinthebox reprimanded by ASA for ‘misleading’ prices
British online clothing retailer Lightinthebox has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over an advert for men’s shoes. The advert for ‘Men’s Shoes Patent Leather Spring/Fall Comfort Oxfords Gray/Blue Burgundy’ text on the advert stated “GBP £34.11(crossed through) £19.74 (43% off)”. Lower down on the page text stated…
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3 October
Amazon bows to pressure, boosts wages for US and UK staff
Amazon has increased the minimum wage for US staff to $15, after founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said he had “listened to our critics” and “thought hard” about his firm’s response to sustained criticism about its pay levels. Bezos’ announcement means more than 250,000 US and 17,000 UK staff, as…
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Sep- 2018 -27 September
Snapchat introduces new e-commerce feature
Photo messaging application, Snapchat has announced it is to move into e-commerce, introducing new shoppable adverts and catalogues from its advertising partners. The application’s creators Snap Inc say they have been testing the new shoppable adverts since June with the feature available in October for all of its advertisers. New…
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27 September
Amazon banned from selling food supplements as ‘slimming aids’ without evidence
Amazon has been banned from selling food supplements categorised under ‘Slimming Aids and Weight Loss’ for being misleading to the customer. Upon investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Amazon said that category heading operated as a “signpost”, allowing customers to navigate through the website, however, the retailer added that…
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27 September
New research shows majority of British people will buy local this Christmas
New research into Christmas online shopping has revealed that British people are increasingly buying from home-grown brands. The research, from CJ Affiliate’s Holiday Intelligence Report, showed that Christmas shopping in recent years has seen cross-border shopping volumes peak around the world, except in Britain. UK cross-border retail sales over the…
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26 September
eBay enters partnership with first UK city to boost retail
Online marketplace eBay has announced it has entered a 12-month partnership with the city of Wolverhampton to help small retailers get online, grow the local economy and demonstrate that online and high street retail can coexist. The partnership will see experts from the online marketplace stationed in the city to…
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21 September
Walgreens Boots Alliance launches flagship store on Alibaba’s Tmall Global platform
Walgreens Boots Alliance and Alibaba Group Holding have announced the launch of a Boots flagship store on Tmall Global, Alibaba’s B2C platform for international brands and retailers. The deal will introduce a number of Boots beauty brands to more than half a billion consumers on Alibaba’s platforms in China. The…
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20 September
Online retail sales stay steady; mobile growth hits ‘all time low’
UK online retail sales held steady this August, as shopper spending reached 12.8% growth year-on-year (YoY) according to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. The growth was in line with the three and 12 month rolling average increases of 12.8% and 12.9%, but below the three-month average 15.3% growth.…
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19 September
Waitrose & Partners trials two-hour ‘rapid delivery’ service
Waitrose and Partners has launched the trial of a two-hour delivery service in selected London postcodes today (19 September). The supermarket has teamed up with startup retail delivery firm, On The Dot, to launch ‘Waitrose Rapid Delivery’ in the SW5, SW6 , SW10, WC1, WC2, EC1, CR5 and CR8 areas…
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