We report as Morrisons’s half-year figures show the supermarket looking to improve its online profitability in the face of challenges including a shortage of HGV drivers and rising commodity prices. The retailer is to stop picking from store for home delivery at 50 shops, instead consolidating the work into 150 stores plus fulfilment centres while it is also using more channels to deliver to shoppers. It is also finding potential lorry drivers from amongst its staff amid an ongoing skills shortage.
Gear4music, meanwhile, says its European business has been hit by shipping delays post-Brexit. Its solution is to open two new distribution centres in Ireland and Spain and the move should eliminate most problems. It has also expanded through the acquisition of
Retailer-turned-brand Mothercare says it is still being affected by Covid. Twenty one weeks into its financial year it says its revenues and profits are below where it would expect in a normal year, given its network of franchisees. We report as the BRC and other retail and hospitality businesses call on the Payment Systems Regulator to act to make card payments fairer as ecommerce shifts further online.
And a new study from Ve Global identifies the products that shoppers find it hardest to buy online.
Today’s guest comment comes from Pete Howroyd of Swapi, who considers how loyalty schemes can be brought up to date, with the customer in mind.
