Technology, systems, logistics, fulfilment, fraud, payments and more
Royal Mail’s parcels business has been hit by Amazon’s move to expand its own delivery network as well as the strength of sterling, which meant fewer international orders were sent. The delivery service said in an interim management statement that in the three months to June 29, performance in its (more…)
UPS is joining up its network of collection points to offer European retailers, including those in the UK, cross-border delivery to a pick-up point as an alternative to home delivery. The delivery company said this week that retailers in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain could now ship (more…)
Parcel lockers are already a familiar sight in mainline train and London Underground stations, convenience stores and supermarkets – and now they’re coming to Victoria Coach Station too. InPost is installing its brand of click and collect lockers at the London coach station, where fashion retailer Asos will be among the (more…)
Aston Villa stars from the 1982 European Cup winning team are turning out to help delivery company DPD make its first Sunday deliveries – of the football club’s new away kit. Gordon Cowans, Gary Shaw (pictured, left, with DPD driver Zack Lunn), Tony Morley, Kenny Swain, Ken McNaught and Colin (more…)
Argos and eBay are to extend their Click & Collect pilot. The general merchandise multichannel retailer and the pureplay marketplace have been testing a set-up in which goods sold by some eBay merchants were available for delivery to a limited number of Argos stores for the end customer to pick (more…)
Online deliveries grew by a fifth in May, according to the latest IMRG research. But while deliveries are continuing to grow fast, it seems many UK consumers have yet to learn about alternative delivery methods such as lockerbanks and third-party collection points, a Venda report found. The IMRG MetaPack UK (more…)
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Morrisons says its online grocery service will make its first London deliveries next month. The supermarket, currently rolling out the service out across the country, is now taking online food orders in North London via Morrisons.com . Deliveries to postcodes from Ealing to Essex will begin on July 9 2014. (more…)
Spending on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers will overtake transactions made on desktops and laptops this year, according to a new study. Juniper Research says a “significant proportion” of m-commerce purchases would previously have been carried out on desktops but are now migrating to the newer devices. (more…)
The Doddle concept of parcel collection shops at stations is to go nationwide, Network Rail said today. The announcement of 300 new openings across the UK over the next three years, creating more than 3,000 jobs, follows a trial at Milton Keynes Central station. Doddle shops are open to all (more…)
With Evening Standard headlines proclaiming “London’s Tech Industry will add £12bn to capital’s economy” and as the city braces itself for the first Technology Week not to mention the Internet Retailing Awards, the spotlight really will be on ….you! So find your signature style and roll with it. After all, (more…)
New consumer rights legislation comes into force today, with far-reaching implications for online traders. The EU Consumer Rights Directive, implemented in the UK by the Consumer Contracts Regulations, brings into force changes including the extension of the cooling off period from seven to 14 days, and the obligation to make (more…)
Swiss beauty brand la prairie has launched new sites in the UK, US and Australia, and plans to launch eight more by 2016. The brand previously used a combination of hosted and on-premise platforms but has now moved to Demandware as it looks to expand around the world. “What we (more…)
Parcel delivery service local letterbox has struck a partnership with a logistics company to support its network of parcel shops and parcelpods when it launches later this year. Norbert Dentressangle will work with local letterbox as it develops both its transport and sorting operations. Local letterbox’s drop off points develop (more…)
The digital economy has passed a “milestone” as UK shoppers now use their debit cards to pay for half the country’s retail sales, by value, the BRC has said. The use of cash is falling, as consumers go online to buy, and into stores where they use contactless payments and (more…)
Hermes has opened a new £14m parcel distribution hub that will support growing demand for next-day deliveries and Hermes plans for international expansion. The 15,000 sq m hub in Warrington represents the biggest single investment by Hermes in its history. Able to handle about 550,000 parcels a day, the hub (more…)
MyHigh.St has turned to crowdfunding to raise money for expansion. The ecommerce network, which gives high streets around Britain a collective online presence, is offering a stake in the business to investors of all sizes. Minimum investment starts at £10, and so far the company says it has already raised (more…)
Mobile Fun has launched a new mobile site to cater for the 30% of visitors who come to the site from smartphones. It predicts that online sales will be matched by sales through phones and tablet computers within two years. The Birmingham seller of mobile phone and tablet accessories says (more…)
More than three-quarters of UK shoppers will use click and collect by 2017 as the service goes through “explosive growth”, according to a new forecast. Planet Retail’s new report, UK Click & Collect: retail fad or future of the high street? predicts that the proportion of people using the service (more…)
eBay is cutting its international selling fees for six months in order to persuade more than 14,000 small and medium-sized businesses to sell overseas. During the course of a six-month programme, eBay will waive its final value and insertion fees when invited UK sellers list their goods on the marketplace’s (more…)