The British Retail Consortium has said it is encouraged that the government is considering options for further rates relief for businesses in England impacted by the pandemic. But the industry body called for the government to implement its suggestion of rates relief at 50 per cent.

Online shoppers say they have increased their online purchases by a third (31 per cent) over the past year, with 60 per cent saying the majority of their shopping is now done online “as a result of the pandemic”, according to research. ShipStation, which provides an e-commerce order and delivery management platform, questioned over 500 online shoppers living in the UK with an average age of 35 for the research.

Online fashion retailer Boohoo has appointed Sir Brian Leveson to provide independent oversight of the group’s supply chain transformation programme. The e-commerce platform has appointed the former judge, who led the independent inquiry into press ethics, to oversee the overhaul of its business practices and supply chains following a review led by Alison Levitt QC, which found a series of failings.

Co-op has extended its use of autonomous home delivery robots to shoppers in Northampton, using bots from Starship Technologies. The grocery chain said it had ambitions to use as many as 300 of Starship’s robots by the end of 2021 as it looks for more towns and cities to operate autonomous deliveries.