Christmas
This coverage explores the critical Christmas trading period in the UK retail sector, focusing on sales performance, promotional strategies, consumer trends, supply chain planning, and operational challenges. Reporting highlights how retailers prepare for and execute peak season campaigns to maximise revenue and manage demand. Designed for executives and managers, it provides insights into effective planning and competitive positioning during the festive season.
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Dec- 2018 -19 DecemberHigh Street
Footfall drops in lead-up to Christmas trading period
Footfall dropped by 0.1% during the second week December, according to the latest figures from Springboard. However, the drop appears marginal compared with the decline in footfall in the same week last year when snow and ice swept the UK on Sunday shutting roads and transport hubs, creating difficulties until…
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19 DecemberDepartment Stores
John Lewis bucks retail woes with festive sales increase
John Lewis has bucked retail troubles reporting a total sales increase of 1.8% for the week to 15 December. The retailer blamed the rise on price-matching discounts and increased business from Christmas shoppers. The rise has defied trends elsewhere in the retail sector, where companies such as Asos have issued…
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19 DecemberEconomy
Lowest November growth in seven years for online retail
UK online retail sales suffered its worst November growth since 2011 last month coming in at just +8.1% year-on-year (YoY), as Black Friday discounting failed to encourage consumer spending, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. November fell below the three- (+8.3%), six- (+10.5%) and 12-month (+12.2%) sales…
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18 DecemberHigh Street
‘Record levels’ of discounting expected in Christmas lead up
UK consumers are benefiting from “record levels” of pre-Christmas discounting in 2018, according to analysis of more than 800,000 products by Deloitte. Deloitte found that retail discounts currently average 43.6% and by Christmas Eve that could rise to 48%, a new record. According to the accounting firm, the record levels…
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18 DecemberEconomy
Brits to spend £1.65bn on last minute Christmas purchases
Some 14.9 million shoppers are expected to spend £1.65bn on last minute Christmas purchases, new research by discount code website VoucherCodes and the Centre of Retail Research (CRR) has revealed – equating to £2.38m per minute. Falling on 22 December, ‘Super Saturday’ is expected to see 10.1 million people descend…
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17 DecemberAdvice
Balancing Christmas demand with employee needs
With the countdown to Christmas now on, the retail industry is reaching the height of this years’ busiest shopping period. With Christmas spending hitting a record £50bn in the UK last year, it’s a frantic time for those working in the sector. In fact, our own research highlighted that almost…
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14 DecemberAdvice
How can e-tailers transform the high-street?
While 14 shops close every day in the UK, a number of e-tailers are moving into the physical retail space trying their hand at bringing the online experience offline via immersive and experiential activations. This is hardly surprising, given shoppers continue to crave real-life, tangible experiences. But what does this…
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14 DecemberSupermarkets
Grocery market growth cools as Christmas nears
Grocery market share figures have cooled in the lead up the Christmas, growing only 2% for the 12 weeks to 2 December 2018, its slowest rate since March 2017. According to the Kantar Worldpanel consumers are benefiting from falling inflation, which now stands at 1.6%, and is less than half…
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12 DecemberSupermarkets
Sainsbury’s and Asda to challenge CMA probe with judicial review
Sainsbury’s and Asda are set to take the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to a judicial review believing they have not been given enough time to effectively argue their case for the merger. The investigation into the merger by the CMA is expected to be completed by the start…
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11 DecemberAdvice
How to deal with ‘buyer’s remorse’ amidst the Christmas shopping frenzy
With Christmas quickly approaching, footfall in shops rising and clicks online increasing, customers are rushing to grab the best Christmas presents and deals in the seasonal sales. Customers in store and online are acting on highs of adrenaline as they find a not-to-miss item leading to quick, impulsive purchase decisions…
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