Online retail to reach $6 trillion in sales by 2024
The value of physical and digital goods sold by online retailers is set to exceed $6 trillion globally by 2024, according to new research. Data gathered by Juniper Research shows that by 2024, the total transaction value of remote payments for physical and digital goods will have risen 53 per cent by 2024, compared to figures for 2019.
Aldi signs delivery deal with AO
Aldi has signed a three year deal with AO World to get its Specialbuys range delivered by the online electricals retailer. Though much of the range is already available to purchase online - alongside a range of wines and spirits - the new partnership will allow Aldi to offer delivery for larger products across the UK, with extended delivery options during the weekend.
Councils spend £1bn on shopping malls
Councils around the UK are set to spend £1 billion on buying shopping centres in an attempt to redevelop town centres hit by recent store closures. Research from shopping centre trade association Revo and property advisory firm Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) found that local authorities have spent a record £775 million buying shopping centres over the past three years, with a further £230 million planned for next year.
Waitrose scraps supply chain tech deal
Waitrose has scrapped an automated customer fulfilment centre partnership with Today Development Partners (TDP) after just four months. The supermarket announced the collaboration in May with the company led by Ocado founder Jonathan Faiman. The deal was aimed at growing its online arm into a £1 billion business by upgrading its supply chain technology, three months the partnership with Ocado ended.
Mixed half-year results for leading UK retailers
Results statements for three of the UK’s biggest retailers have demonstrated mixed fortunes on the High Street and concerns about the impact of Brexit on UK shoppers. Morrisons reported its first fall in quarterly underlying sales since 2016, with its interim report for the half-year period ending 4 August, down 1.9 per cent against tough comparisons of a 6.3 per cent increase for the same period last year.
Topshop profits fall £500m amid online shift
Losses at Topshop and Topman deepened to £505 million in the year to September 2018 after the parent company of Philip Green’s Arcadia retail empire reported a loss of £177.3 million. Topshop and Topman posted losses of more than half a billion pounds at the fashion brands compared to a loss of £3.9 million the previous year, with sales down nine per cent to £847 million.
Historic High Streets to share £95m fund
The government has announced the list of towns set to benefit from a £95 million boost aimed at preserving the heritage of UK High Streets. Nicky Morgan, the culture secretary, named the 69 towns in England that will receive part of the cash injection as part of the biggest ever single investment by government in the UK’s built heritage.
Luxury brands ‘let down by digital experience’
New research has revealed that 40 per cent of luxury shoppers still prefer to start their journey in-store, but 39 per cent are now using mobile phones to shop and 29 per cent are using a retailer or brand’s app. This is according to a survey of 3,000 luxury shoppers - defined as respondents who had browsed or purchased what they perceived as a luxury item within the last three months - from the UK, France and United Arab Emirates (UAE), commissioned by e-commerce search provider Attraqt.
Mastercard launches retailer cashback initiative
Mastercard has announced a new initiative to increase the nation’s access to cash, letting merchants earn a fee every time they dispense cash to a shopper paying with a Mastercard debit card from April 2020. Although cashback at shops has been a withdrawal option for bank account holders for some time, by providing retailers with this fee, Mastercard suggested that it will offer a new income stream to the High Street and provide further incentive for local shops to offer the service.
YNAP names new CTO as part of hiring spree
Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) has appointed Pete Marsden as its new chief technology officer (CTO) to spearhead the group’s technology programme and focus on mobile, personalisation and artificial intelligence. Reporting into global chief operating officer Olivier Schaeffer, he will lead the group’s global technology team across London and Bologna.
