More than 90 per cent of UK shoppers are planning to avoid physical stores this Black Friday, as fears around COVID-19 persist.A survey of 1,000 UK shoppers conducted by analytics company Contentsquare, found that while many consumers are avoiding Black Friday altogether, 35 per cent will still be hunting for deals online on 27 November.

Pattern has closed its first round of outside funding, a $52 million Series A round co-led by Ainge Advisory and KSV Global. Since being founded in 2013, the company has become one of the largest e-commerce analytics platforms globally, with this investment backing the continued development of tools that will allow partners to make better decisions based on real-time data.

Travis Perkins has worked with 5874 Commerce to launch a new 'dead stock' website for its trade and consumer customers. The building materials retailer has a network of over 640 branches and 200 tool-hire outfits, but at the start of this year it identified around £30 million worth of inventory which had not sold in branches.

Debenhams is set to cut a further 2,500 jobs from stores and warehouses, as the retailer seeks to stem losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. The department store chain, which fell into administration for a second time in April, was already facing tough trading conditions before non-essential stores were forced to close for the lockdown.