EDITORIAL Looking ahead to IRX 2019, Brexit and augmented reality

In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter we report ahead of IRX 2019, which throws open its doors tomorrow. The IR team will be among thousands expected to the event to hear the latest from retailers, suppliers and other members of the ecommerce and multichannel industry members on how they see retail changing over the coming months and years. It’s always interesting to hear what the shared issues are and how retailers from different industries have dealt with them. When it comes to looking to the future, it’s not always easy to be certain about what will change, or even what is changing, but a day or two at IRX will often leave visitors with more idea of what the future is set to bring than they had before. 

Among the line-up are speakers sharing how they’ve approached the changes that Brexit may or not bring, though it remains uncertain exactly what shape the UK’s exit will take, and how that will affect trading relationships with Europe, both with suppliers and with end customers. It’s against that background of uncertainty that

logistics professionals are voicing their frustrations, and it’s certain that many businesses share their feelings right now. Jersey Post has come up with its own solution, as we report today.

In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter we’re also reporting as multichannel retailer Bonmarché is bought – the move looks likely to be welcomed by a Bonmarché board that has dealt with several profit warnings in recent months as consumers become more uncertain about spending, and change the way that they spend at the same time. Meanwhile, Gear4music has set out how it plans to rebalance its operations in order to cope as its sales continue to grow – and often less profitably.

We report on research from Gartner that suggests 100m people will be using augmented and virtual reality technologies by 2020, while today’s guest comment comes from Martin Johnansson of SerenataFlowers.com.

Image courtesy of InternetRetailing Events