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Eric Prugh, chief product oand co-founder of PactSafe, believes retailers need to embrace self-service and in exploring self-service workflow possibilities they should take a stock of their contract ecosystem and evaluate where they can make changes to improve efficiency and give customers the self-service workflow they want. from Latest Media https://ift.tt/33dWVo7 via IFTTT

// M&S opens new-format store in Giltbrook Shopping Park, Nottingham // Unlike many other M&S sites that have put food as the core focus, the new store is a complete clothing & food store // The store employs 125 staff and is part of M&S’s transformation strategy to spruce up its estate Marks & Spencer has opened a new-format clothing and food store in Nottingham as it pushes on with its transformation strategy. M&S said the new store, located within Giltbrook Shopping Park, employs 125 staff and is part of the retailer’s plan to create a store portfolio “fit for the new world” under its Never the Same Again scheme. The scheme has so far seen the retail giant shut down over 50 “legacy stores” as it seeks ways to replace ageing M&S sites with stores in the right locations and supported by digital technology. READ MORE:  M&S expands Mobile Pay Go tech to 310 stores M&S confirms: 950 staff at risk of job cuts M&S to reopen 83 cafes wi

Aldi could be on the verge of launching an ecommerce arm in the UK as its logistics operators says it has the systems in place to “seize the opportunity which e-commerce offers”. Armstrong Logistics, Aldi’s long-term logistics partner, has built and launched a dedicated home delivery division which it says will become a “major part of our business in the future”, according to  The Grocer. The company, which has delivered more than 30,000 of Aldi’s food parcels to shoppers’ doorsteps since lockdown began, also said it was planning to expand its warehouse capacity by 70 per cent. “The Covid-19 crisis has sparked a retail transformation in the UK. Our investment in our e-commerce offer is a natural evolvement of our business,” its chairman and founder Justin Armstrong told  The Grocer . READ MORE:   Aldi and Lidl to continue push into online delivery “During the pandemic we demonstrated our ability to handle increased volumes – managing a 300% spike literally overnight whilst still

Contributor: Andy Siviter, Director of Ecommerce, Croud There’s a scramble right now to grab or defend a piece of ecommerce between the likes of Amazon, Facebook , eBay and co. Each knows that the most engaging and frictionless user experience will be key to winning consumers over and building demand – with retailers, brands and the advertising investment that will follow.  UK lockdown orders have accelerated plans at the macro level for these big players and at the micro level for small businesses and manufacturers heavily reliant on revenues driven in stores either directly or via retailers. They must quickly transform and provide a good end-to-end experience – from brand and product discovery through to fulfilment online, often from a standing start.  For the consumer it’s an exciting period of rapid disruption and an explosion of options, whilst for the business, difficult choices need to be made and a real sense of urgency is required to get up and running. If you’re a small

The distillers behind the award-winning Silent Pool Gin have announced that the Super Premium Gin is to be distributed by Proof Drinks. The post Surrey distiller, Silent Pool Gin, has appointed a new UK distributor appeared first on Retail Times . from Retail Times https://ift.tt/3k0p7kn via IFTTT

DCS Group, the UK’s leading distributor, is helping wholesale and convenience retailers drive more sales through main shop missions by promoting the right range of Baby Care products in its third Destination Convenience webinar. The post DCS Group brings new life to baby care category appeared first on Retail Times . from Retail Times https://ift.tt/3hZ2wmJ via IFTTT

Mentos, the global number three candy brand, has unveiled a brand-new innovative gum format to invigorate and bring excitement to the gum singles market. The post Mentos launches Pure Fresh Gum Singles appeared first on Retail Times . from Retail Times https://ift.tt/2ECuxly via IFTTT

A new ‘conscious consumer’, more aware of the environmental impact of their purchases, has emerged from the coronavirus lockdown, a new research report by PFS and LiveArea, has found. The post More than a third of UK and Irish consumers are now more conscious of how their online shopping habits impact the environment appeared first on Retail Times . from Retail Times https://ift.tt/2XdDnMR via IFTTT

RDI, the income-focused UK REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust), announces that it has signed a 10 year lease with H&M for a new 9,500sq ft unit at St. George’s shopping centre in Harrow, north west London. The post RDI creates new store for H&M to expand its presence at St. George’s shopping centre, Harrow appeared first on Retail Times . from Retail Times https://ift.tt/3fhvSuK via IFTTT

Premium Scottish berry brand, AVA Berries, is toasting its strongest seasonal sales to date following the launch of a new influencer and experiential marketing campaign shortly after lockdown was introduced. So far this year, almost 4.7 million punnets of AVA strawberries have been sold across the UK, an increase of over 2 million compared to this time last season. The post Scottish berry brand’s sales almost double thanks to new lockdown marketing campaign appeared first on Retail Times . from Retail Times https://ift.tt/33itAJz via IFTTT

Customer shopping behaviour is driving the digital transformation of businesses, and retailers who are adopting a digital-first approach address changing customer needs better than those who don’t. The post Digital-first retailers are better primed to meet customer demand appeared first on Retail Times . from Retail Times https://ift.tt/33aI4Ld via IFTTT

Retailers can utilise the dropship model (the shipment of goods from a manufacturer or wholesaler, directly to a customer on behalf of the retailer) as a strategic weapon against short-term shock waves such as COVID-19 and as a means of more permanently extending their digital business. No one could have foreseen the disruption that organisations across the world were suddenly faced with; the retailers without an online presence were, seemingly overnight, left with no way of selling products to their customers for months on end. For the retailers that do have an omnichannel presence, the dropship model enables them to be extremely agile and digitally extend their business by quickly adding products so that consumers can safely and easily purchase from the comfort of their own home.  The COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst for an elevated baseline for ecommerce and the need to intensify their digital offer. This crisis has also shown retailers the importance of diversification. Di

// Pets at Home total revenue drops during lockdown // Stores remained open during lockdown after being classed as an essential retailer // Like-for-like sales dropped 13.5% Pets at Home has been praised for its “inherent resilience” despite first-quarter sales dropping during the lockdown period. The pet goods retailers saw a one per cent decline in total revenue in the quarter to July 16, driven by a 0.7 per cent drop in like-for-like sales. Pets at Home remained open during lockdown after being classed as an essential retailer, but like-for-like sales during the first eight weeks of the quarter dropped by 13.5 per cent. READ MORE: Pets at Home revenue reaches £1bn for first time Pets at Home denies misleading investors over £34m loan However, Pets at Home said this was offset by a 12 per cent increase in like-for-like sales in the latter part of the quarter. Meanwhile, a 7.3 per cent drop in in-store sales was offset by a 71 per cent rise in omnichannel sales. Ret

// Lidl’s new £70m regional distribution centre in Peterborough will open August 1, employing 400 people // The new warehouse forms part of Lidl’s £1.45bn investment in Great Britain across 2019 and 2020 // The opening follows news that Lidl plans to open 100 new stores across 2021 and 2022 Lidl has announced that it will start operations at its new £70 million warehouse in Peterborough from tomorrow. The new 484,376sq ft regional distribution centre, which employs 400 people with plans to recruit a further 50 this year, will initially serve 48 stores and use a natural refrigerant system along with solar panels to generate 10 per cent of the building’s total electricity. The warehouse also forms part of Lidl’s commitment to invest £1.45 billionn in Great Britain across 2019 and 2020. READ MORE:  Lidl to open 1 new store per week & create 1000 new jobs before Xmas Lidl seeks review of “skewed” survey which found Aldi was cheaper Aldi and Lidl to continue push into onl

// Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned that jobs could be lost if he did not abandon his “one-size-fits-all” furlough withdrawal // Labour says it could lead to a “python-like” squeeze on jobs and SNP says it’s “dangerously premature” // From August 1, the furlough scheme starts to get tapered off Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been told he has 24 hours to change course on the government’s furlough scheme or risk making a “historic mistake”. Labour warned that jobs could be lost if he did not abandon his “one-size-fits-all” withdrawal of furlough support. From August 1, employers will have to pay National Insurance and pension contributions for their staff. READ MORE: Furloughed workers to receive full redundancy payments under new law Retailers to start contributing to furlough bill from August Retailers in line for £1000 bonus for each employee brought back from furlough From September, companies will have to pay 10 per cent of furloughed employees’ salaries – rising to 20 pe

New figures have revealed that shop vacancies increased to 12.4% in the second quarter of 2020 from 12.2% in the previous quarter. Data from the British... View Article from The Retail Bulletin - Latest Retail News https://ift.tt/39GTDek via IFTTT

// Overall shop vacancy rates in the UK rises to 12.4%, up from 12.2% // Shopping centre vacancy went from 14.1% to 14.3%, high streets 12.3% to 12.4%, and retail parks 8.2% to 8.3% // The coronavirus lockdown was a driving factor behind the “modest” increases The number of empty shops saw a “modest” increase across the UK over the past three months due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, according to new figures. The quarterly BRC-LDC retail vacancy monitor revealed that 12.4 per cent of all shop units were vacant in the three months to the end of June. This represented a slight uptick from 12.2 per cent in the first quarter, in the eighth consecutive quarter of increasing vacancy rates. READ MORE: The general health of UK retail is at all-time low Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said the rise was “modest as government support allowed many locations to survive lockdown”. All types of shopping destinations saw vacancy rates

The retail headlines last week were interesting. Based on the latest Office for National Statistics retail sales data (for June 2020) , the media packaged up a story about how UK retail sales had surged to pre-lockdown levels and were close to being normal ( BBC , Reuters, The Grocer , Telegraph , Independent are amongst examples). The sense in many of the reports was of some return and stability/normality in retailing, now and in coming months. For obvious reasons, this is not an accurate reflection of the situation, nor indeed of the detail in the data that ONS presents in its report. Some of the media did manage to nuance the story but many people will have simply seen the headline/soundbite. As many retailers will readily tell you, “normal” and “pre-lockdown levels” are not the norm. So, what did the ONS data show? It is worth remembering that this is data to the end of June, and that not all of retailing had re-opened across the UK at this time. It is also probably noteworthy t

Marks & Spencer has opened a new clothing and food store at Nottingham’s Giltbrook Retail Park. With its easy access for people living in both Nottingham and Derby, the store will have... View Article from The Retail Bulletin - Latest Retail News https://ift.tt/2BKaMay via IFTTT

A weekly podcast with the latest e-commerce news and events. Episode 230 is recap of Amazon’s Q2 2020 Earnings. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Stitcher SoundCloud TuneIn iHeartRadio Pocket Casts Overcast Podcast RSS Google Play Music Facebook ? ? ? ? ? Amazon Q2 2020 Earnings Amazon Q2 2020 Earnings Presentation Statement by Jeff Bezos to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary Revenue at $88.9B vs expectation of $80.7b, a 41% year over year growth. Earnings of $10.30 per share vs expectation of $1.90, a 51% year over year growth. Other Earnings Updates Shopify revenue up 97% to $714M (GMV now exceeds eBay) eBay revenue up 18% to $2.87B Don’t forget to like our  facebook page, and if you enjoyed this episode please write us a review on itunes. Episode 230 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded live on Thursday, July 31st, 2020. Transcript Jason: [0:24]  Welcome to the Jason and Scott show this is episode 230 being recorded on