Internet Retailing

By Joe Farrell, VP of international operations at PFS. 

Amidst ongoing political turbulence and the continued transformation of the modern high street, 2019 was a challenging year for retail to say the least. Brexit uncertainty, combined with the growing customer demand for sustainability and superior levels of customer service, has put substantial pressure on embattled retailers.

Elastic Path, the provider of headless commerce solutions, acquired commerce technology company Moltin to create what is claimed to be the industry’s only commerce platform that enables every business leader to quickly and easily leverage microservices to gain a competitive advantage in the market.

ONS retail sales figures for December saw overall sales fall 0.6% against November. But a strong showing from department store web sales saved Christmas for many retailers says ParcelHero.

In 2010, many warehouses would still have been regarded as a neglected cost centre. Now, moving into 2020, the warehouse is a carefully managed control centre and very often the strategic hub of e-commerce within an ever-extending supply chain.

Red Box Vape Ltd has finalised a deal to acquire Vapour Lounge with 5 retail store outlets across Scotland as part of its continuing acquisition programme. This transaction will add a further £0.75m to turnover. The company is one of the fastest-growing UK brands in the sector.

18-24-year-olds (44%) are more likely to be influenced to buy a product or service online if they’re given a personalised offer, compared to those aged over 55 (24%), research has revealed. However, while it’s been established that the younger generation is influenced by a more bespoke approach, a shocking 57% of all those surveyed agree that the offers they receive online are ‘mostly irrelevant’.

The influence of China on global card acceptance is shown by the fact that Discover is accepted at more outlets than Visa and Mastercard as a result of agreements with UnionPay and other schemes

Data visualisation, reporting and analytics software developer Panintelligence has appointed Howard Bell, a seasoned commercial and technology growth specialist, as chair.

DSV and Marimekko in Finland have signed a partnership agreement. As a result, Marimekko’s central warehouse operations will be moved to DSV’s new warehouse in Vantaa in the beginning of 2020.

In the backdrop of increasing demand for compact and cost-efficient protective packaging solutions, the growth outlook of global padded mailers market will remain positive during the forecast period (2019 - 2029). A new study projects healthy 5% CAGR for padded mailer sales during the period of projection.