EDITORIAL Retailers on supply chain issues, sustainability, fulfilment and live shopping

In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter we report on how the uncertainties of the Christmas trading season are now affecting retailers as the New Year unfolds. Costs are rising while stock that came late before Christmas is still waiting to be sold. Meanwhile, the supply chain issues that meant traders stocked up well ahead of Christmas still threaten.

Today we report as Studio Retail looks for extra working capital in the wake of a Christmas when it went to lengths to make sure goods arrived on time. While its sales were well up on pre-pandemic figures, they did not match the bumper Christmas of 2020 – with stock that arrived late still sitting on the balance sheet.

Joules, meanwhile, sets out how global supply chain issues, falling footfall and rising distribution costs look set to affect its profits in the second half of its financial year. The multichannel fashion retailer now expects that trading will recover in the rest of the year, as visitors return to shops and as it has more new stock – although some prices will have to rise.

Quiz is now supplying The Very Group on a stockless fulfilment basis, following a trial last autumn. Because Very doesn’t need to have all of the Quiz Iines it sells online in its warehouse, it is better placed to sell a wider range in the knowledge that Quiz will send out orders direct to shoppers.

Marks & Spencer, meanwhile, has been fine tuning its live shopping experience, officially launched on Friday. This is just one of a range of recent cross channel improvements to its shopping experience.

And New Look sets out its plan for becoming halving its product emissions by 2030, and becoming climate positive by 2040.

In today’s guest comment, Hannah Stacey of Ometria looks back on the peak season just gone to consider how digital strategies can create more value from shoppers.