Marketing
This coverage explores marketing strategy and innovation across the UK retail industry — from brand campaigns and customer engagement to data-driven advertising and omnichannel communication. Retail Sector reports on retailer marketing performance, creative partnerships, loyalty schemes, and digital transformation shaping how brands connect with consumers. Coverage includes insights into retail media networks, influencer collaborations, social commerce, and the evolving use of AI and analytics in campaign optimisation. For retail professionals, this category offers expert intelligence on how effective marketing drives sales, brand value, and competitive advantage in a dynamic retail environment.
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Jan- 2019 -22 JanuaryAdvice
Four key trends that will shape retail over the next 12 months
“Retailers need to be ready for an onslaught of industry change. They need to look at store standards and up their game… in order to compete” former Landmark Wholesale MD, Martin William forewarned in 2018. Industry change is certainly happening, but it’s by no means all bad news. New ‘experimental’…
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18 JanuaryAnalysis
Fall of the high street — can retailers survive?
The UK’s high streets are under attack. From the continued rise of online shopping, which has led to a reduction in footfall, to increases in business rates and the Living Wage, Britain’s retailers are struggling. The decline of the British high street has dominated the headlines in 2018 with in…
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17 JanuaryComment
What steps should brands take to ensure their online presence is optimised?
Online retail sales are growing and are estimated to be in the region of 8.8% of total retail spending globally, equivalent to around $2.5trn. The UK already tops the list of countries with retail e-commerce sales as a percentage of total retail sales, with 18%. So, given that we live…
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16 JanuaryEconomy
Build-A-Bear lowers UK trading expectations due to ‘significant’ Brexit challenges
Build-A-Bear has announced it has lowered its trading expectations for the UK due to “significant” challenges posed by uncertainty around Brexit. The retailer identified the EU’s GDPR laws as some of the factors causing uncertainty in its UK business. A statement by Build-A-Bear said its “sales decline will be largely…
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16 JanuaryAdvice
AI-enabled retail – helping to level the playing field for physical retailers
The rise of ecommerce and subsequent access to a whole lot of data about online shoppers has provided retailers with new insight into customers shopping habits and behaviours and as a result, has changed the way retailers engage with their customers, both online and in store. In the past, it…
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14 JanuaryHigh Street
Footfall drops for 13th consecutive month in December
Footfall declined for the 13th consecutive month in December, despite heavy discounting by retailers during the festive period. Overall footfall declined by 2.6% in the month, although this is a lesser decline compared to the previous year when it fell sharply by 3.5%. High street footfall declined by 2.1%,…
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2 JanuaryComment
Why shoppers are holding on to smartphones and laptops for longer than ever
In the golden era of technology, gadgets have become increasingly consumable as shoppers now upgrade to the latest models and versions well before there is any technical need to do so. Despite the latest designer smartphone brands continuing to seemingly fly off the shelves, recent studies suggest that the average…
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Dec- 2018 -20 DecemberAnalysis
The shift towards conscious consumerism
The UK’s ethical retail sector has grown by more than £40bn since 2008, with households spending an average of £1,263 on sustainable goods last year according to not-for-profit consultancy Ethical Consumer. With trends like Fairtrade and organic growing in prominence, people are wanting to know more about the provenance of…
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18 DecemberComment
Why automation is a crucial opportunity for retailers
It doesn’t take an expert to tell you how prevalent automation is right now in British industries. We’ve all ‘self-scanned’ in the supermarket, engaged with online help desks and know that the industrial production line is now more a robotic parade than a human process. But, while there’s no denying…
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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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