Shoppers spent £133bn online last year, but the internet is hitting margins January 17, 2017 UK retailers raked in £133bn online last year as the internet's importance for the retail industry continued to grow. Research from IMRG and Capgemini shows that shoppers spent £18bn more online in 2016 than they did the year before, a growth of 16 per cent. Read more: John Lewis will cut staff bonus as profit comes [...]
These are the key trends in retail in 2017 – and who will benefit from them January 16, 2017 The Christmas reporting season isn't over yet – the market is awaiting updates from Dixons Carphone and WH Smith – but the figures that have been reported so far have indicated some of the key retail trends investors should watch out for this year. Read more: Brexit vote boosts Hugo Boss The outlook for the UK consumer [...]
Outraged City analysts bash retailers for choosing to report on the same day January 12, 2017 Overloaded City analysts bashed UK retailers this morning for all choosing to publish financial updates on the same day. Today has been branded "Super Thursday" because so many retailers are publishing their Christmas figures. Financial reports have come from Marks and Spencer, Tesco, AO World, Debenhams, Asos and Primark-owner Associated British Foods, to name just a few. [...]
Asos sales jumped during a record Christmas trading period January 12, 2017 Asos remains decidedly en vogue, after it hiked guidance following a record Christmas trading period. The figures It's all coming up roses for Asos (in this case, roses embroidered down the side of a button-down denim mini). The online retailer reported a 36 per cent jump in retail sales to £605.7m in the four months to the end of December, [...]
Fashion industry blues: Sector falters as it loses £750m and sales suffer deepest decline since 2009 January 12, 2017 Britain's fashion market struck a feeble pose last year, when it suffered its deepest sales decline since August 2009, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel. Sales fell by two per cent in the 52 weeks to 18 December compared to the year before, Kantar found, knocking nearly £750m off its total value. In October, Kantar had already [...]
Consumer spending cooled in December after post-Brexit spending spree January 10, 2017 Consumer spending cooled towards the end of 2016, pointing to a slowdown in Britain's spending spree following the Brexit vote. In October and November, consumer spending growth hit 5.5 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively, according to Barclaycard. But this figure fell to four per cent growth year-on-year in December. Read more: Aldi bags [...]
UK retail scores “solid yet unspectacular” end to 2016 January 10, 2017 Retailers are bracing themselves for a possible slowdown in consumer spending this year, but the sector ended 2016 in (relatively) good health, thanks to a strong performance on Christmas week. Like-for-like sales in UK retail increased one per cent year-on-year in December 2016, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG, improving from a [...]
Online retailers including Asos and Boohoo set to be the winners of the festive season January 8, 2017 Retailers with a strong online offering are set to be some of the biggest winners of the festive season's trading, with analysts pencilling in sales jumps for Asos and Boohoo of 30 per cent and 46 per cent respectively. The City had been fearful that the festive period was a bloodbath for retailers after Next [...]
Christmas Day online shopping will peak at this surprisingly late time for the post-millennial “Generation Z” December 25, 2016 Most people will be aiming to put their feet up after Christmas lunch today and zone out in front of the TV – but there's one group of people who will be driving a late-night shopping boom this evening. Not content with their new stash of presents, "Generation Z", the post-millennial cohort who were born in [...]
Lingerie brand Bluebella secures £1m through crowdfunding for US expansion December 14, 2016 The British brand which created the official Fifty Shades of Grey lingerie has raised £1m – double its original target – in a crowdfunding campaign. Bluebella turned to its fans for help funding an expansion to the US, and reached a grand total of £1,088,700 by the time the campaign ended. Founder Emily Bendell said: [...]