Latest events & articles
Shoppers vow to vote with their feet as retail reopens
Following non-essential retail reopening on 12 April, shoppers have vowed to vote with their feet and continue to support bricks-and-mortar retailers on the High Street, the latest data from Sensormatic Solutions reveals. Original research of over 1,000 UK shoppers by Sensormatic in its latest report – ‘UK Retail Beyond A Year Of Lockdowns’ – revealed […]
Consumers find new allies in their search for justice
Consumers in theory have plenty of champions to get things done in society. The hierarchy is government, NGOs, lobbyists and industry bodies, Citizens Advice, parish councils and local pressure groups. But until now, businesses have kept out of politics unless it touched them directly; they tended to lean heavily on talk rather than action, excusing […]
Homes on the high street are only part of the answer to the retail crisis
Nature abhors a vacuum and no bigger vacuum than the UK high street where one in seven shops are now vacant, not shut until all legal restrictions on human movement and the owners can open again, but vacant. They may not reopen as shops even again as the law changes on August 1 allowing empty […]
It’s time for fewer but better shops
To paraphrase the chief exec of the BRC, Helen Dickinson talked of fewer but better retail jobs back in 2016, perhaps we now need to talk about fewer but better shops. Its recent research around store closures through 2020 and now in the first quarter of 2021 apparently equates to 1 in 7 being vacant; […]
Sainsbury’s results are a reminder that UK supermarketing is ruthlessly competitive
Despite a rise in 7.3% sales, Sainsbury’s posted a pre-tax loss for 2020 of £261m, due to the cost of securing its stores during the pandemic, paying workers bonuses for stepping up during the crisis, taking on temporary staff, closing over 400 standalone Argos stores, general restructuring, and write downs at its banking operation. Clothing […]
As non-essential retail reopens, retail staff are facing a digital training gap, with store associates reporting a lack of digital training formats and infrequent learning opportunities, the latest report from digital workplace innovator, YOOBIC, warns. Original research of 1,000 frontline workers in YOOBIC’s latest ‘Frontline Employee Workplace Survey 2021’ report revealed that almost half (47%) […]
Watch out, there’s a TikTok about
While retailers and brands are limbering up for the great bounceback as retail reopens and consumers start to loosen their purse strings (we hope), they should start testing some of the newer channels to market that appear to be delivering spectacular views and click throughs. Take luxury brand Balenciaga which ran a shoppable campaign on TikTok over […]
What are the 15 most important technologies retailers will need post-Covid?
Having read almost every single report talking about what retail will look like after Covid, I feel it’s time to comment broadly on the many findings, some of which are contradictory, and therefore not always helpful for retailers trying to plan their entry into the so-called new world. The real stand out contradiction was the […]
Guest post – Reinvigorating the retail frontline
As retail reopens, retailers will want to ensure that their staff get the training and support they need to deliver great customer experience whilst keeping them compliant, engaged and motivated, says Fabrice Haiat, CEO of YOOBIC. Within days of the first lockdown being announced on March 23, 2020, UK consumers made an immediate dash for their […]