In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter we’re reporting as retail rebounds after the third lockdown. The latest ONS GDP estimate suggests that retail growth drove a rise in GDP.
We report on how Naked Wines has benefited from the Covid-19 pandemic over the last year, as locked down shoppers bought wine online – often for the first time. Today it shows that its sales grew quickly – but it also almost doubled its pre-tax losses as it invested £50m in winning new customers.
Card Factory shows the effect of pandemic lockdowns on both its online and offline businesses. While online sales have grown by 42% from a relatively low base, its offline business has declined by a similar percentage. The retailer is now focusing online and on a multichannel model as it shifts strategy to accommodate changing customer behaviour.
Such shifts were part of the reason that many leading retailers succeeded in growing their sales and profits during 2020, a year marked by Covid-19 lockdowns around the world. New analysis from GlobalData suggests that online retailers had an in-built advantage as customers opted for contactless deliveries and to order online.
We also name the new Elite brands, in the 2021 RetailX Brand Index, published in association with Tealium. These brands – and indeed all the 500 leading European brands listed in the report – have successfully evolved their strategies as customer shopping behaviour changed in a year of pandemic disruption. The Brand Index illustrates RetailX research through analysis, graphics and a series of case studies.
Today’s guest comment comes from Liza Merkourieva of Artefact, who argues that marketplace selection is the key to smart selling on marketplaces.
