Retail Supply Chain Management

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Consumer Trends report reveals household spending tumbled 11% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, compared to the same period last year. The report shows that hotels and restaurants were hardest hit: spending on meals and accommodation collapsed by 63% this January-March, compared to Q1 last year.

Smart warehouse solutions provider, Breathe Technologies, has launched an order fulfilment software to help e-tailers meet both stringent online marketplace requirements and their own direct customer demand.

Augmented reality (AR) and 3D creative platform, Poplar Studio, has partnered with Murus Art, the disruptive online art retailer, to launch a new augmented reality experience enabling customers to try and buy art from their home.

By Abdi Essa, Regional VP UK & IE, Dynatrace.

The pandemic hit global retail hard, but not in an even way. The fortunes of supermarket chains soared, whilst fashion retailers were forced to shutter their high street stores and struggled for many months.

Symphony RetailAI, global provider of integrated AI-powered marketing, merchandising and supply chain solutions for FMCG retailers and manufacturers, has announced research showing that omnichannel grocery shoppers shop more frequently and spend up to 20% more compared to in-store-only shoppers.

Doing business with Europe has become so expensive and onerous since Brexit that a vast number of UK eCommerce businesses have simply turned off all EU activities. Managing the different VAT thresholds and rates across each EU country has certainly added to the admin burden and cost of doing business – so how much difference will the new Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) make?

Controversial plans to break up ‘big tech’ monopolies, which could force e-commerce giants to sell off services such as Amazon Logistics, Google Maps, YouTube and WhatsApp, have been given the green light.

New research from Hitachi Solutions  and K3 Technologies has found that many retailers didn’t have the technology foundation in place to capitalise on the eCommerce boom over the last year. In fact, over half (57%) of retailers reported that they weren’t agile enough.

AI developers DataRobot and Palantir Technologies Inc have entered into a new partnership designed to create unique, agile and real-time solutions to help solve the most pressing demand forecasting problems.

Nutravita, a fast-growth eCommerce supplement company, has selected James and James Fulfilment to provide a fully outsourced eCommerce fulfilment service, as it diversifies and enhances its direct-to-consumer (D2C) shopping experience. This partnership also sees James and James provide Nutravita with access to its award-winning, cloud-based order management system, ControlPort.