Sasha Fedorenko

Angus Thirlwell, chief executive and co-founder of Hotel Chocolat says physical stores should carry an extra element that online stores aren’t able to deliver in order to be truly omnichannel. "The question we asked when we were considering opening our first physical store: what is it going to bring that we can’t already do with our online model? That question is very valid today."

Amazon announced today the opening of its Home of Black Friday London pop-up store for its "biggest ever" peak trading period.

IMRG’s new report predicts online spend will reach £8.1bn during the eight-day peak period (19-26 November) of Black Friday. That’s up by 12.1% from the same time last year. Retailers are expected to turn over more than £1.5bn on Black Friday alone, up by 13.2% YOY. We also report as B&Q turns its back on Black Friday, and have advice from Sitecore on delivering experiences that make a difference.

“Automation is about logical, information flows. If you’ve got processes that are routine, rules-based and repetitive you can automate them,” says Helen Bradshaw, director of business services of Royal Mail. 

Sports Direct this week bought Evans Cycles out of administration – but warned that it would close half of its stores. Administrators said the retailer failed because it lacked the cash to invest in its stores and its online platform.