Half of UK online retailers expect to see 20% year-on-year growth this Christmas, according to IMRG In its latest survey of senior ecommerce professionals, IMRG found that the percentage of retailers expecting annual growth to reach in excess of 10% over the festive trading period reached 85%, compared with 80% (more…)
Analysis
Brits lead the way in European online shopping habits
Almost one-in-three British consumers shopped online in the last three months, outpacing their French and German counterparts, according to research from Hermes. With 27% of British shoppers placing orders online (compared to 14% in France and just 10% in Germany), the growing importance of multichannel offerings and better delivery services (more…)
InPost launches 1,000th UK lockerbank
InPost has launched its 1,000th UK locker location in the UK – and says it will open its 2,000th next year. The parcel locker service has opened the milestone lockerbank on Harrow Road in Wembley, London, as it scales up ahead of the Christmas shopping period. It says its network is (more…)
UK-wide survey shows Londoners happiest to share their location data
A UK-wide survey of 2,000 people has found Londoners are the happiest to share their location data with brands, as long as they receive relevant deals in return.
Wearable tech set to boom this Christmas – with long term impact on retail business, believes Samsung
According to research commissioned by Samsung Electronics and prepared by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), 2014 is set to be the year that the wearables sector begins making a significant economic impact with its predicted value across the UK, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands likely to hit £924.2 million (more…)
Multichannel investment helps Selfridges deliver record profits
Investment in multichannel helped Selfridges deliver record profits in its latest financial year. The company this week announced operating profits of £150m, up by 12.3% on the same time last year, while gross sales grew by 10.4% to £1.2bn. All the company’s retail channels grew during the year, with online (more…)
High streets must adapt to changing shopping or die: IMRG

High street landlords and councils risk killing many of the UK’s high streets by failing to adapt to the “fundamental transformation” in the way we shop, the IMRG’s chairman has warned. James Roper, who founded the etail trade association, says tens of thousands of retail outlets could close if changes (more…)