OPINION: Zalentine’s Day – How Gen Z Valentine’s Trends Are Reshaping Retail
Retailers are rethinking Valentine’s Day as Gen Z shifts toward friend‑focused celebrations, coining the term “Zalentine’s Day.” Data shows 60 % of Gen Z will celebrate with friends, favoring authentic, shareable content over traditional romance imagery. Brands are urged to create digital‑first experiences—AR lenses, in‑chat polls, creator collaborations—that spark conversation and communal gifting. Platforms like Snapchat enable these interactive formats, aligning with Gen Z’s non‑linear purchase journey.
Retail Slumps to Fourth Place in Customer Service Rankings – with Ecommerce Brands Performing Even Worse
Esendex’s latest study ranks retail fourth among five industries for customer service, offering only 2.1 contact channels on average. Pure‑play ecommerce brands perform even worse, with just 1.2 channels, mainly email or web forms. Trustpilot scores reflect this gap—2.83 for...
Mobile‑first Shoppers Make Stores Digital by Default, New Research Shows
A new Insider Trend and Fern Insights survey of 1,000 consumers in the UK, France and Germany finds that 53% of European shoppers aged 18‑75 use their mobile phones while in store, making the physical shop digital by default. Shoppers...
UK Retailers Hit by Double Whammy of Brexit Frictions and US Tariffs
New ONS data shows that 32.7% of UK retailers report rising export costs since Brexit, while US tariff changes further strain margins. Export volumes fell for 40.6% of retailers in December, and paperwork burdens rose for over a quarter of...
Dunelm Posts Solid H1 Despite Softer Second Quarter
Dunelm reported a solid first‑half FY26, with total sales climbing 3.6% year‑on‑year to £926 million and digital participation rising to 41%, outpacing the broader homewares market. Market share edged up 20 basis points to 7.9%. The second quarter was softer, with...
Most Retailers Are Using the Wrong Tools to Manage Their Products and Content
New Canto research reveals that 88% of online retailers struggle to keep product information consistent across channels, while 78% juggle multiple disconnected tools. Traditional approaches—spreadsheets, generic PIMs, and conventional DAMs—each fall short of the unique needs of product‑centric retailers. Canto...
Brits to Spend a Record £2.38 Billion on Valentine’s Day
Brits are set to spend a record £2.38 billion on Valentine’s Day, a 7% increase from last year. Parcelhero estimates 25 million cards, 22 million gifts and 4 million bouquets will be purchased, with jewellery and clothing averaging £107.52 per spender. Men in the...
InPost to Be Acquired for €7.8 Billion by Consortium Led by Advent, FedEx, and Partners
InPost, the European parcel‑locker specialist, agreed to a €7.8 billion all‑cash acquisition by a consortium led by Advent, FedEx, A&R and PPF. The offer of €15.60 per share represents roughly a 50% premium to the pre‑announcement price. Ownership will split 37%...
GUEST COMMENT Retail Media and Voice Commerce – the Power Duo Shaping Retail Growth
Dom Coleridge argues that pairing retail media networks with voice commerce creates a high‑impact growth engine for brands in 2026. Retail media captures shoppers at the moment they express purchase intent on platforms like Amazon and emerging retailer networks, delivering...
Lidl Beats Aldi to Become Highest-Paying Supermarket in UK
Lidl GB announced a £29 million investment in employee pay, positioning it as the UK’s highest‑paying supermarket. From 1 March, entry‑level hourly wages rise to £13.45 nationally and £14.80 in London, with seniority premiums up to £15.30. The package also doubles paternity...
Frasers Group Accelerates European Expansion with Majority Acquisition of Italy’s Maxi Sport
Frasers Group has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Italy’s premium multi‑sport retailer Maxi Sport, which operates 18 stores across the country. The deal is a cornerstone of the group’s plan to introduce the Sports Direct brand to the...
PROFILE: How Beer52 Built a Community‑driven Craft Beer Empire
Beer52, launched in 2013, has become the UK’s leading craft‑beer subscription club, amassing over 200,000 members and earning a spot among the Sunday Times 100 fastest‑growing companies. For £27 a month, subscribers receive eight curated beers, snacks and the Ferment...
‘No Spend January’ Boom Raises Questions for Retailers as Longer-Term ‘Low-Buy’ Trends Emerge
The TikTok‑driven ‘No Spend January’ challenge, adopted by 26% of Americans and now extending to full‑year commitments, is prompting consumers to limit purchases to essentials. Small and medium‑size retailers are feeling the squeeze, as lower impulse spending threatens cash flow,...
OPINION: Retail Subscriptions Need to Take a Leaf Out of the Digital Playbook
Retail subscriptions are the only vertical experiencing a decline, even as the broader subscription economy grew 8.3% year‑over‑year in 2026. Guy Meyers of Recurly highlights that consumers want flexibility, with 38% more likely to pause than cancel, and value pricing...
Shoppers Want to Feel Seen and Understood, Suggests New Tesco Media Report
Tesco Media’s third annual "We Know the Nation 2026" report reveals British shoppers are seeking community and shared values, moving beyond pure transactions. With roughly 80% of UK households holding a Clubcard, the data shows event‑driven sales spikes—such as scones...
OPINION: Peak Gets Everyone Excited – but January Is Much More Revealing for Retailers
Retailers often treat Black Friday as the ultimate test of customer experience, yet the true test arrives in January when peak‑season buffers disappear. The post‑holiday period exposes weaknesses in returns processing, inventory synchronization, and delivery speed that were masked by...
IAB Europe Updates Commerce and Retail Media Standards and Flexi Ad Sizes Guidelines to Bring Even More Consistent Measurement
IAB Europe has released two new resources – the Commerce (Incl. Retail) Media Measurement Standards V2 and Flexi Ad Sizes Guidelines – to bring greater consistency to retail media across Europe. The updated standards incorporate extensive stakeholder feedback, a refined...
Cyber Fallout Continues as M&S CTO Exits Months After Ransomware Attack
Marks & Spencer’s chief technology officer Josie Smith is leaving the firm, a move that comes nine months after a ransomware attack by the Scattered Spiders group wiped out roughly £229 million and halved the retailer’s 2025 profit. The breach forced...
Retail Subscriptions Slide 3.5% as Consumers Demand Flexibility
Retail subscriptions slipped 3.5% year‑on‑year, making the sector the sole category in decline while overall subscription revenue grew 8.3%. The drop stems from consumer frustration over rigid pricing and the inability to pause or adjust plans. More shoppers are shopping...
DFS Lifts Profit Expectations After Strong First Half
DFS Furniture lifted its full‑year profit outlook after a robust first half, forecasting underlying pre‑tax profit of £30‑31 million, up £13‑14 million YoY. Order intake rose 2.3% and gross sales on delivered orders are projected to increase 8.7%, despite a broadly flat...
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...
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...
OPINION: How ‘Sustainability’ Claims Can Land Online Retailers in Regulatory Hot Water
Online retailers face heightened regulatory risk over greenwashing as the UK’s CMA and ASA intensify enforcement of the Green Claims Code. Recent ASA rulings against Nike, Lacoste and Superdry for unsubstantiated “sustainable” ads illustrate the pitfalls of vague claims. The...
45% of Peak Returns Were Paid For: Why Retailers Are Redrawing the Lines
During the 2025 peak season, 45% of returns were paid for, rising to 69% among smaller retailers, according to ZigZag data. The cost of processing these returns hit roughly £1.5 billion, with each return consuming 20%‑65% of the item’s value. Retailers...
THG Ends 2025 on a High as Subscriptions Drive Loyalty and Beauty Outperformance
THG closed 2025 with its strongest quarter, posting a 7.0% Q4 revenue rise and returning to full‑year growth of 2.3% for the first time since 2021. The boost came from a subscriptions‑led model that deepened loyalty across its Beauty and...