Insight into retail operations looking at innovative technology solutions, retail systems, logistics and fulfilment, payment solutions and more.
Most shoppers now want retailers to provide more delivery options, according to a new study that also suggests lack of convenience is a significant factor in failed deliveries. A survey carried out for delivery experience specialist Sorted questioned 2,000 UK adults, and found 70% wanted to see more flexible delivery (more…)
Order Management: An Engine for Delivering Rapid Omni-channel Shoppers want to order, pay, collect and receive their goods in the most convenient way to suit their lifestyle. They want a consistent experience regardless of the channel in which they browse, order or return their goods. To meet this rising demand, (more…)
Sainsbury’s this week announced customers will be able to pick up their Argos and Tu orders from 100 of its convenience stores by the end of the year. The supermarket announced the launch of the Argos Click & Collect service in 100 Sainsbury’s Local stores in a move that it (more…)
Two new innovations in click and collect services over the last week point to the growing importance of convenient pick-ups for customers, and therefore online retailers. Pass My Parcel, which enables Amazon, among its other customers, to offer its shoppers same-day pick-up from a nearby newsagent, says it has invested (more…)
Nearly three in 10 online orders placed with UK retailers are bound for an EU destination beyond our shores, new data suggests. Some 29.6% of all ecommerce orders shipped from the UK were heading across borders, in July, according to the latest IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index. That’s up from (more…)
Sainsbury’s is trialling what it says is the UK’s first 30-minute click and collect service. The launch comes as the country’s grocers work towards ever faster and more convenient fulfilment in a highly competitive market. Shoppers can order their groceries via the Android version Chop Chop app and pick it (more…)
Convenient delivery options are top of the list for leading retailers looking to improve the service they offer their customers. Here are some of the latest ways that IRUK Top500 retailers have acted to improve their fulfillment services – which are likely to have a knock-on effect on services across (more…)
Retailers in the UK are determined to keep investing in in-store technology, such as mobile assisted selling and self-service kiosks, to improve the customer experience – but most agree they’re not doing enough to replicate the experience of online shopping.
With only 4 months to go, this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday are set to be even bigger following the positive eCommerce figures seen last year, with retailers such as Joseph & Joseph, Jack Wills and The Works reporting huge increases in sales.
Two in five retailers around the world have had a data breach in the last year – and most consider themselves to be vulnerable to such threats in the future, according to a new study. In all, 43% of retailers said they had experienced a breach over the preceding 12 (more…)
The importance to fast-fashion retailers of ensuring delivery and collection options meet the needs of their customers is underlined by announcements from Boohoo.com, Missguided and Amazon.com in the US this week. Both Boohoo.com and Missguided have put in place new options to improve their service. And doing so is arguably (more…)
A new Amazon development centre set to open in Cambridge in the autumn will house scientists with expertise in areas from machine learning to data, speech and software. Teams working on devices such as Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV Stick, Echo, Echo Dot and the new Echo Look, as well (more…)
MediaMarkt is deploying innovative light-based technology in its flagship store in the centre of Eindhoven to guide smartphone-wielding shoppers to the groceries they need. The retailer has introduced a Store Guide smartphone app, developed by novomind, to its new-look store in the Dutch city. That app works with an LED (more…)
Holland & Barrett has completed its roll out of technology designed to improve the customer shopping experience. The health and wellbeing specialist, a Leading retailer in IRUK Top500 research, now has Lexmark’s Publishing Platform for Retail in all its UK and Ireland stores. The system draws on stock availability to (more…)
Next-day delivery remains the favoured option for more than half (52%) of UK shoppers, but nearly one in five UK multichannel retailers does not offer it, according to new research. A study by Ampersand analysed the delivery promises of 185 leading UK retailers and found that 18% do not offer (more…)
Terry Murphy, director of the John Lewis National Distribution Centre (NDC), described the retailer’s approach to Black Friday at IRX 2017. Here are his key points. The changing shape of Black Friday, and peak trading Black Friday became an event for John Lewis, an Elite retailer in IRUK Top500 research, (more…)
Nottinghamshire market town Mansfield has become the first centre to upgrade to Rewarding Visits technology, which will see its shopping areas transformed into ‘digital high streets’.
European retailer Otto is using machine learning to ensure it and its partner retailers hold the level of stock that it predicts its customers will want to buy. Otto , a Leading retailer in IREU Top500 research, sells more than 2.2m items from 6,000 brands via otto.de. These include products (more…)
Tesco shoppers who order before 9am can now pick up their groceries from midday onwards. This extends an existing service that sees customers order by 1pm for pick up from 4pm, and will be available from more than 300 sites across the UK, Monday to Saturday. The move comes as (more…)
John Lewis is adopting new technology to manage its supply chain for omnichannel retailing. The retailer, an Elite trader in IRUK Top500 research, is to develop a direct supplier channel built on Virtualstock’s The Edge Platform. The system will connect suppliers directly with central John Lewis systems, enabling real-time inventory (more…)