Retail sales growth hitting an all-time low
The eCommerce weekly top 3
As part of our ecommerce influencer series we ask leading UK ecommerce and shipping leaders to share their top three news items of the week. This week is Scott Thompson.
- The most important news story for me this week has been UK online retail sales growth hitting an all-time low of +3.6% year-on-year in December, according to the Capgemini IMRG eRetail Sales Index. Even the ecommerce juggernaut is not immune to uncertainty around Brexit, it would seem.
- There was more bad news as Missguided revealed plans to close its loss-making flagship in Westfield Stratford City at the end of February. This followed on from the women’s fashion retailer saying losses had deepened after an “extremely challenging” year.
- Elsewhere, a key theme from the recent NRF 2019 event in New York was retailers redoubling their digital store transformation efforts. It’s now clear that you can’t just offer a digital experience online. Customers also expect the same thing in-store. But how many High Street retailers, given a tough trading environment and challenges with legacy IT systems and processes, will truly succeed here?
About Scott
Scott Thompson has been writing about ecommerce and retail technology for almost 15 years. He started out as Editor of Retail Systems and these days is Editor at Retail Technology Innovation Hub. He also contributes regularly to Essential Retail and produces a weekly column for TechHQ.
Website: retailtechinnovationhub.com | Twitter: @ScottThomps74 | Linkedin: Profile