In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter, the fact that we’re now firmly into peak shopping season is reflected in reports on predicted spending this Christmas, and in the latest updates to our overview of how Black Friday and Cyber Monday are shaping up.
But we’re predicting that the expected Christmas uplift, if it materialises, will come at the expense of spending in previous months, since ONS figures this week showed October’s online growth at its lowest for almost two years. Perhaps it also reflects consumer confidence that they can buy later than ever this year since they trust retailers’ logistics to deliver. Either way, it seems shoppers are holding back ahead of this year’s Christmas shopping. Will Black Friday be the key to unlock that pent-up demand? We’ll be watching and keeping you updated.
Today we have news from Mothercare, which this week set out the next steps in its strategy towards digital first, and from Royal Mail, as it reports how Amazon’s move towards growing its own logistics network will impact its business.
Today’s guest comment comes from Bruno Berthezene of Solocal Group, who considers why – and how – retailers must act to improve their mobile customer experience. Finally, we report how social scientists predict the UK high street will evolve in the light of online shopping.
Our research reports
Our research editors research produce regular reports on pertinent ecommerce issues. Click on the links to download your free copies of the Seasonal Commerce Report and Customer Experience Report.
Our webinars
Click to visit the Internet Retailing webinars page to find out about any upcoming webinars and to catch up on any that you may have missed.
