Automation
This coverage examines the role of automation in the UK retail sector, focusing on technology adoption, workforce impact, operational efficiency, and supply chain innovation. Reporting highlights how retailers implement automation to improve productivity, reduce costs, and respond to consumer expectations — offering insight for executives, managers, and professionals driving transformation in retail operations.
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Apr- 2018 -3 AprilAnalysis
Try-before-you-buy is causing a ‘returns tsunami’
Try-before-you-buy (TBYB) is a new shopping trend that enables customers to order multiple items before deciding what they’d like to keep. There is no up-front cost; shoppers simply pay for items they keep after a certain number of days – usually 30 days. They return unwanted items and are never…
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Mar- 2018 -13 MarchAnalysis
The rise of automated customer care
In a world where response and resolution times are coming under increased scrutiny, we’re seeing more retailers look for effective ways to provide rapid customer service while maintaining a quality customer experience. We’re seeing a move from focusing on customer experience, to customer convenience. According to cloud computing company Salesforce,…
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Feb- 2018 -22 FebruaryAdvice
An algorithmic approach to more personalised customer relationships
Personalisation in retail is not new – this is what retailers have been doing since the days of the little black book. However, machine learning and automation of marketing and loyalty communications are proving to be game changers in terms of delivering individual experiences, more efficiently. Increasingly we are seeing…
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20 FebruaryAdvice
My retail trend predictions for 2018
Rife with advancements in technology, new financial regulations and waves of thinking, the landscape of modern business is constantly evolving; pushing forward-planning to the forefront of driving success. This year has already seen the implementation of PSD2 and the launch of Amazon’s first check-out less supermarket, but there are a…
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12 FebruaryAnalysis
The evolution of customer care
We live in an increasingly digital world. Throughout the day, consumers use multiple devices and channels to communicate with, and make purchases from, the retailers they use. Digitisation has changed the goal posts for retailers; customer service is evolving into customer convenience. And as more retailers build their services around…
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9 FebruaryAnalysis
The changing face of retail and retail employment
Over the last five to 10 years we’ve all witnessed the changing face of the retail store. The early signs were evident, with Apple’s flagship stores launching as places to worship tech, the rise of experiential stores – where we’re just as likely to pop into one for a coffee…
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Jan- 2018 -30 JanuaryAnalysis
The new age of the one click customer
The boundless rise of automation is changing the way we communicate and altering the ways in which businesses operate. Today digital technologies are enabling new business models and creating new revenue streams. Take Skyscanner for example, the travel fare aggregator website has capitalised on digital payment technologies and moved away…
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29 JanuaryAdvice
PPC trends we’re likely to see in the retail industry in 2018
Last year, there were many changes to paid search, including a change to the AdWords dashboard and the rise of voice search, the latter we’re likely to see a lot more of over the course of the next 12 months. But what about other aspects of PPC? Will robots take…
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29 JanuaryNews
1 in 4 jobs at risk of being replaced by robots in the North
Northern and Midlands cities will be more exposed to job losses as the rise of robots continues, according to a new survey. The Centre for Cities is warning that national and local leaders should act now to prepare people and places for the changes ahead. Automation and globalisation will boost…
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12 JanuaryOnline & Digital
Ocado tests robotic assistant for use in its warehouses
Online home delivery supermarket Ocado has revealed the first prototype of a robot to assist staff in its warehouses. The project, dubbed ‘SecondHands’, is designed to maintenance technicians working in Ocado’s automated warehouses, and will learn through observation how to complete tasks that require a level of precision or physical…
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