Comment: Overlook Older Shoppers at Your Peril
Retail and hospitality firms are overlooking older shoppers, even as the over‑65 population is set to double to 1.6 billion by 2050 and control a majority of discretionary spend. Older consumers are increasingly active on platforms like TikTok, where they favor social, story‑driven buying experiences rather than static transactions. The article cites examples of live‑commerce events that dramatically lift conversion rates among 60‑65‑year‑olds. It urges businesses to adapt communication, staffing, and digital tactics to capture this high‑value segment.
Knoops Boosted by Strong Christmas Sales Growth
Knoops reported a 12% increase in UK store‑for‑store sales over its six‑week Christmas trading window, keeping annual revenue on track to surpass £20 million. The retailer also announced a new production and warehousing facility and the appointment of former Game Group...
DFS Sales Increase Despite Market Uncertainty
DFS Furniture reported a strong first‑half performance, with underlying profit before tax rising to £30‑31 million – a £13‑14 million year‑on‑year increase. Order intake grew 2.3 % across the DFS and Sofology brands, and gross sales recognised on delivery are expected to be...
Music Magpie Partners with Timpson on In-Store Smartphone Trade-Ins
Music Magpie, AO World’s recommerce arm, has teamed up with Timpson to roll out in‑store smartphone trade‑ins across more than 1,300 UK locations after a four‑month pilot. Customers can hand over their device, watch a live assessment and receive cash...
Lacoste’s Next Serve: Inside the Brand’s Big Australian Push
Lacoste is transitioning its Australian presence from wholesale to a direct‑to‑consumer model under distributor Accent Group. The partnership leverages Accent’s 25‑year relationship with Lacoste and its expertise scaling global footwear brands to build a bespoke retail footprint, beginning with a...
Reminder: Trading Restrictions for Retailers on Australia Day
Retailers are adjusting operating hours for Australia Day on January 26 after the National Retail Association, Australian Retailers Association and Shopping Centre Council released joint guidance. While all states allow trading, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia impose specific hour limits. Queensland permits...
Why China’s Wedding Dress Sellers Are Pinning Their Hopes on More Marriages
China’s marriage rate jumped 8.5% in the first nine months of 2025, reversing a decade‑long decline. A May 2025 policy allowing couples to register marriages anywhere in the country has spurred demand at Suzhou’s Huqiu Bridal City, home to over...
John Lewis Tops UK Retail Customer Satisfaction League Table
John Lewis topped the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) for retailers with an 86.4 score, placing second overall behind First Direct’s 87.0. The index, published bi‑annually by the Institute of Customer Service, shows all 13 sectors improving satisfaction year‑on‑year. Overall...
MPE 2026 – Europe’s Home for Merchant Payments
MPE 2026 is set to be Europe’s premier merchant payments conference, drawing more than 1,600 attendees, including 500 global merchants, 170 speakers and over 90 sponsors. The agenda spans AI‑driven payment solutions, fraud mitigation, stablecoins, account‑to‑account transfers and the upcoming...
Albertsons Is Putting Digital Screens for Ads in More than a Third of Its Stores
Albertsons Media Collective is rolling out an in‑store digital screen network to 800 of its more than 2,200 locations in 2026 after a successful pilot in 80 stores. The expansion follows the onboarding of over 50 advertising partners and a...
Goodwill’s E-Commerce Business Hits Record Sales as Online Thrifting Surges
Goodwill’s online marketplace ShopGoodwill.com recorded a record $450 million gross merchandise value in 2025, a 22 % increase over 2024 and the highest in its 26‑year history. The platform now exceeds $3 billion in cumulative sales, though it still represents less than 10 %...
Why Headline Growth Hasn’t Translated Into a Broad Retail Rebound in China
China’s economy met its 5 % growth target in 2023, but retail sales barely rose, with December’s year‑on‑year increase of just 0.9 %. The slowdown reflects lingering effects of a property downturn, tepid wage growth and consumer uncertainty, even as inflation ticked...
JD Sports Embraces AI Shopping
JD Sports Fashion plc announced that its online and mobile channels will now incorporate AI‑driven search and purchase capabilities for footwear, apparel and accessories. The generative‑AI tool interprets natural‑language queries and instantly surfaces product recommendations, aiming to streamline the shopper...
Matalan Hails Strong Third Quarter Performance
Matalan reported a robust third‑quarter performance, with EBITDA climbing 38% to £27 million and year‑to‑date EBITDA up 53% to £61 million. Like‑for‑like sales rose 2% overall and digital sales surged 11% in the quarter, highlighted by its best Black Friday online day...
Wolt Repositions Itself as Broad Trading Platform
Finnish ecommerce platform Wolt has rolled out an app update that repositions it as a multi‑category commerce platform, shifting from store‑first to product‑first search. The redesign lets users browse and compare products across brands, with topic‑based grouping such as protein...
Thomas Rolls Out AI Search and Performance-Based Ads to Speed Industrial Sourcing
Thomas, operating under Xometry, unveiled an AI‑driven smart search that lets industrial buyers use natural‑language, multi‑attribute queries, delivering more than 15% higher supplier evaluations than its legacy tool. The platform also introduced performance‑based listings, where manufacturers pay only when buyers...
Six Reasons Your Tax Bill Is Bigger than Expected This January
Retail owners filing their 2024‑2025 Self Assessment this January often see a larger tax bill than expected. The spike usually stems from payments on account, which bundle the current year’s liability with an advance for the next year. Additional factors...
WD-40 Ecommerce Sales Jump 22% in Q1
WD-40 reported a 22% year‑over‑year jump in ecommerce sales during Q1, making digital its fastest‑growing channel. Total revenue edged up 1% to $154.4 million, while net income slipped 8% to $17.5 million due to higher operating costs and softer distributor shipments. Sales...
Blue Monday 2026: What It Means for Online Retail
Blue Monday, falling on 19 January 2026, is dubbed the year’s most depressing day and coincides with a sharp dip in consumer spending and a surge in post‑Christmas returns worth over £1.5 bn. Retail analysts warn that January acts as a stress...
Global eCommerce Isn’t Just Changing. The Rules Are Being Rewritten
Over the past year, major markets have overhauled low‑value import rules, ending the US $800 de‑minimis exemption, phasing out the EU’s €150 duty‑free threshold, and removing Thailand’s import relief, while Saudi Arabia now requires exact address data for customs clearance....
Inaugural eBay Climate Transition Plan
eBay released its first Climate Transition Plan, outlining a roadmap to achieve net‑zero emissions by 2045 while expanding its recommerce model. The plan highlights a 40% recommerce contribution to sales, new electric‑van delivery pilots in the UK, and the fulfillment...
Just One in Four Retailers Are Ready for AI-Driven Commerce
Only 27% of UK retailers report fully connected, scalable tech stacks, leaving most unprepared for AI‑driven, agentic commerce. Deloitte and Gartner predict autonomous AI agents will dominate retail interactions by 2025‑2030, demanding real‑time, clean data. Patchworks’ survey of 200 retail...
Show HN: AskUCP – UCP Protocol Explorer Showing All Products on Shopify
AskUCP, launched on January 11 2026, is a global AI shopping search built on the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). UCP, an open standard co‑created by Google and Shopify, lets applications query product data across e‑commerce platforms without traditional APIs or integrations. At...
How Target Is Pioneering Agentic Commerce in Retail
Network International has signed a processing agreement with Saudi Sudanese Bank to expand digital payment services across Sudan. The partnership will provide acquiring, issuing, and fintech solutions, enabling merchants to accept card payments and facilitating cross‑border transactions. By leveraging Network...
Speed and Transparency: The New CX Imperatives for 2026
Humii’s 2024‑2025 data shows e‑commerce speed is stagnating while shoppers demand clearer timelines. Mismanaged expectations—not slow service—are the primary cause of churn, especially around dispatch, live‑chat, and return authorisations. Young‑fashion retailers outperform the industry with five‑day refunds, whereas segments like...
How to Scale Your Shipping Strategy in 2026 to Meet Customer Demand
Australian e‑commerce sales are projected to hit $87 billion in 2026, driving retailers to upgrade shipping, inventory, and returns processes. ShipStation’s 2025 benchmark shows 43% of shoppers now expect two‑day delivery, and 69% would switch brands for better fulfillment options. Integrated...
Represent Appoints Former Adidas Executive as Brand President for North America
Represent, the Manchester‑based men’s fashion label, has hired Jim Anfuso as its brand president for North America. Anfuso, who previously led commerce at Complex NTWRK and launched the Adidas Yeezy line, also held senior roles at Fox Racing and American Eagle....
How Pattern Beauty’s CEO Sets up Brand Strategy to Win in a Multi-Channel World
At the NRF conference, Pattern Beauty co‑CEO Christiane Pendarvis detailed the brand’s rapid multi‑channel expansion, launching its DTC site and adding Ulta within ten days before partnering with Target, Sephora, Nordstrom, Amazon and Macy’s. She explained that each retailer is...
Comment: Direct-to-Consumer Retail in 2026
Direct‑to‑Consumer (D2C) retail in 2026 is shifting from pure transactional models to relational commerce, where AI handles scale and humans deliver high‑emotion experiences. Trust has become the primary purchase driver, with 81% of shoppers needing brand confidence and referrals delivering...
Walmart’s Fashion Push Is Resonating with More Six-Figure Households
Walmart is rapidly expanding its fashion portfolio, adding ten private apparel brands since 2020 and debuting the teen‑focused Mills line in 750 stores and online. The retailer has also partnered with resale platform Rebag to offer pre‑owned luxury accessories, while...
Avocados From Mexico Turns to AI to Advertise Around the Super Bowl Instead of a TV Buy
Avocados From Mexico is forgoing a traditional $8 million Super Bowl TV spot in favor of an AI‑driven Prediction Pit that delivers real‑time football forecasts and custom guacamole recipes. The experience features a realistic Rob Riggle avatar powered by a predictive AI...
Return Fraud, Counterfeits and Other Scams: 2025 Was a Banner Year
2025 proved a banner year for retail fraud, with the OECD and EUIPO estimating counterfeit sales near US$467 billion and Liquidonate reporting US$127 billion in fraudulent returns alone. Online returns now outpace in‑store returns three‑to‑one, creating fertile ground for tactics like wardrobing,...
NRF 2026: AI Development Gets Practical
At NRF 2026, technology vendors emphasized moving AI from hype to practical applications in retail back‑office functions and store operations. They argue that AI’s potential—automated inventory management, demand forecasting, and labor scheduling—can only be realized if retailers first modernize their...
2026 Retail Outlook: Where Smart Bets Will Pay Off
Retail leaders face a 2026 landscape shaped by lingering inflation, interest‑rate pressures and shifting consumer confidence. Companies must tighten intellectual‑property protection, especially across fast‑growing marketplaces, while private‑equity investors hunt for value in supply‑chain efficiency, data monetisation and private‑label expansion. Labor...
Ziina Executes UAE’s First Live Open Finance Payment with Lean Technologies
Ziina, a UAE‑based fintech, completed the nation’s first live open‑finance payment using Lean Technologies’ API platform. The transaction linked a consumer’s bank account to a merchant checkout in real‑time, settling instantly across multiple banks. The proof‑of‑concept demonstrates compliance with the...
Amazon Rules Product Discovery, for Now
Amazon continues to dominate U.S. product discovery, with 56 % of shoppers starting searches on the platform in a 2024 Jungle Scout survey—still ahead of Google (42 %) and Walmart (29 %). Its edge derives from Prime’s free‑shipping guarantee, a catalog of over...
Liberty Appoints Managing Director of Retail
Liberty has promoted Lydia King to managing director of retail, effective immediately. King, who joined the iconic department store in December 2023 and became group buying and merchandising director in January 2025, brings extensive experience from senior buying roles at...
Frasers Group Unifies Loyalty and Rewards Offering Under Frasers Plus
Frasers Group is consolidating its loyalty programmes by folding the Sports Direct Membership into its Frasers Plus platform, an FCA‑regulated credit account that spans the group’s portfolio and 16 partner retailers. The unified rewards system launches in February 2026, promising...
Bank of Italy Models Ethereum Risks in Extreme Price Collapse Scenario
The Bank of Italy’s financial stability unit released a stress‑test model that simulates the impact of an extreme Ethereum price collapse on the Italian financial system. The scenario assumes an 80%‑plus drop in ETH value, triggering liquidity strains for banks...
Modern Retail Podcast: Cautious Optimism at NRF Around AI and Shopper Sentiment in 2026
At the National Retail Federation’s 2026 conference, retailers displayed cautious optimism about AI’s role in commerce. Brands highlighted agentic commerce use cases, including AI-powered checkout and product discovery, while tech giants Google and Microsoft unveiled new retail AI tools. Despite...
Ingenico, Samsung, and Talus Introduce Mobile Business Operating Solution in North America
Ingenico, Samsung, and Talus have launched a joint Mobile Business Operating Solution (MBOS) for North American merchants. The platform fuses Samsung’s Galaxy hardware, Ingenico’s payment processing stack, and Talus’s cloud‑based back‑office services into a single, app‑driven point‑of‑sale system. It supports...
2026 eBay Business Seller Meetups
eBay’s 2026 Seller Meetups return with a slate of free, in‑person events running from January through February across multiple UK cities. Organized by local seller leaders, each session blends peer support, practical e‑commerce tips and discussions on emerging tools such...
Incoming Walmart CEO Reshapes C-Suite with Internal Promotions
Incoming Walmart President and CEO John Furner will assume his role on Feb. 1, 2026 and immediately reshaped the retailer’s C‑suite by promoting four long‑time insiders. Seth Dallaire moves to EVP and Chief Growth Officer for Walmart Inc., overseeing global platforms such as...
Pet Retailers Vie for Loyalty with Virtual Vet Services, Pet-Inclusive Air Travel
PetSmart has introduced a virtual veterinary support service powered by Vetster in select U.S. stores, giving associates real‑time access to licensed vets for a range of pet health issues. Petco, meanwhile, has teamed with regional carrier JSX to roll out...
The Next Retail Advantage Is Hiding in Merchants’ Payments Systems
Merchants are hitting conversion walls because legacy checkout systems can’t keep up with mobile traffic and buy‑now‑pay‑later demand. Adobe’s Payment Services, built into Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source, offers a unified payments layer that simplifies adding digital wallets and...
DIY Approach Fuels Craft Cocktail Brand
Liber & Co., founded in 2011 by three Texas friends, has grown from a single pot of syrup to multiple 1,500‑gallon tanks supplying premium non‑alcoholic cocktail syrups worldwide. The company’s DIY ethos drives in‑house manufacturing, warehousing, marketing and global sales,...
Tractor Supply, Planning 100 New Stores in 2026, Opens 2,400th Store in South Carolina
Tractor Supply opened its 2,400th store in Aiken, South Carolina, marking a milestone in its rapid expansion. The retailer continues its aggressive growth plan, targeting 100 new stores in 2026, matching its 2025 rollout. The new location featured a $2,400...
Escape the Aisle: Outgrowing the Category You Were Born Into
Pilgrim’s Europe used deep consumer insight to reposition Richmond from the nation’s favourite sausage brand to a broader mealtime brand. By shifting focus from product to the emotional moments of togetherness, the company identified a meat‑free opportunity that aligns with...
Are Your Product Pages Invisible to AI? Retail’s New Fix
Retailers are revamping product detail pages (PDPs) to become machine‑readable, partnering with AI‑content platforms Cimulate and Bazaarvoice. Structured markup now tags key attributes, enabling generative AI, voice assistants, and visual search to surface products that were previously invisible. Early pilots...
ASOS Bets on Topshop Brand Revival with European Website Launch
Topshop has unveiled a dedicated EU ecommerce site, eu.topshop.com, covering 23 European markets and built on Shopify for faster browsing and richer storytelling. The launch follows ASOS's 2021 acquisition of the brand after Arcadia's collapse, aiming to transform the iconic...