In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter, we’re reporting as retailers readjust to post-pandemic spending patterns, as inflation-challenged shoppers both spend less, and spend more of what they do spend in-store than last year, and a smaller proportion online.
We also have the latest peak trading updates – today focusing on both delivery and returns as well as rounding up the latest Black Friday figures – and report on the World Cup effect on sales – online and off – as England reaches the quarter finals
Frasers Group has reported rising sales and profits. The strength of its recovery is driven by its ability to sell property and acquire brands, but also reflects the return to in-store trading. The retail group, which has a significant presence on high streets around the world, has also welcomed a government approach to business rates.
But multichannel retailer Seraphine and pureplay In The Style are both prioritising profits over sales growth as they work out new strategies to help them trade through a time of uncertainty and fast rising costs.
Seraphine has seen marketing costs grow particularly quickly, and says that while shoppers are returning in-store they are not doing so at the same levels that it enjoyed before Covid-19, while online sales are down from pandemic peaks.
In The Style, meanwhile, is also putting profits ahead of sales growth. It says that it needs to adapt to a changing environmentat a time when costs are rising and the pandemic shift online is now subsiding. The retailer is looking at its options through a strategic review, which may – or may not – lead to some or all of its business or assets being sold.
In today’s guest comment, Fergal O’Carroll of Scurri considers how retailers can best manage rising delivery costs as the pandemic ecommerce boom slows.
