Retail TouchPoints

JANUARY 1, 2025

Delivering a smooth and frictionless post-purchase experience should be a top priority for every retailer. According to PwC, businesses that reduce friction for consumers and empower all employees to make things right whether through returns, price adjustments or other policies bring higher customer satisfaction and more forgiveness. This point is critical because even when customers love a company or product, 59% of shoppers in the U.S. will walk away from a business after several bad experie

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Management Returns Fulfillment Shipping 320

Retail Focus

JANUARY 2, 2025

Its that time of year again when we can sit down, pour ourselves a little (or indeed large) glass of something, and reminisce about the year that was. It is fair to say that retail has had its ups and down in 2024, with plenty of challenges accompanying the good times. While certain trends that were apparent this year may not be as key in 2025, others will continue into the next year and beyond, playing a major role in shaping customer demand.

Consumer 162

Consumer Marketing Advertising Management 162

Inside Retail

JANUARY 2, 2025

45,002,344. Thats the number of water bottles worth of waste that Zero Co has removed from oceans, rivers and beaches around the globe. Unlike many eco-friendly or green-washed FMCG brands, cleaning up pollution isnt a side-gig for Zero Co. Its tackling plastic pollution from both ends of the problem: Reducing household waste while cleaning up the oceans with its 10-for-1 promise; for every product sold, it removes 10 bottles worth of plastic pollution.

Shipping 130

Shipping Specialty Retailers Returns Consumer 130

Retail Wire

JANUARY 1, 2025

Dairy Queen has announced the return of the S'mores Blizzard in 2025.

Returns 264

Returns 264

Speaker: Jason Cottrell and Gireesh Sahukar

Retailers know the clock is ticking–legacy SAP Commerce support ends in 2026. Legacy platforms are becoming a liability burdened by complexity, rigidity, and mounting operational costs. But modernization isn’t just about swapping out systems, it’s about preparing for a future shaped by real-time interactions, AI powered buying assistants, and flexible commerce architecture.

Planning

Wiser

DECEMBER 30, 2024

In the competitive world of candy and confectionery, staying ahead requires more than just great productsit demands precise execution and actionable insights. One leading brand turned to Wiser to achieve exactly that. By addressing challenges in seasonal campaigns, merchandising opportunities, and inventory optimization, they transformed their category performance.

Cross Merchandising 78

Cross Merchandising 78

Retail TouchPoints

JANUARY 3, 2025

Given that different cannabis products can produce a wide range of effects among consumers, one of the biggest challenges facing cannabis retailers is matching the right product with the right customer. To the newbie consumer, theres a confusing welter of terms like indica and sativa as well as the multiplying variations of edible products, each with different levels of THC and other ingredients that affect the products impact.

Consumer 305

Consumer Management Store Operations Customer Experience 305

Retail Focus

JANUARY 3, 2025

Liverpool ONE has announced that Inditex-owned fashion brand, Zara , has opened its significantly upsized flagship on upper and lower South John Street. The new 42,000 sq ft store is the latest example of brand investment in the destination, following a landmark year of signings that will make 2025 Liverpool ONEs biggest year for openings since it launched in 2008.

Payment Services 162

Payment Services Fashion Customer Experience Management 162

Retail Gazette

DECEMBER 30, 2024

Post-Christmas footfall is up year on year as shoppers flocked to the stores for the Boxing Day sales. Footfall across all UK retail destinations was up 14.2% on 27 December compared to last year, driven by a 20.2% surge in shoppers on high streets, according to data from MRI Software. Shopping Centres enjoyed a 12.7% rise in footfall, while retail parks saw a modest 2.7% increase.

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Consumer Marketing Shopping 111

Retail TouchPoints

JANUARY 3, 2025

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has sued Walmart and Branch Messenger , alleging that the partners forced the third-party delivery drivers in Walmarts Spark Driver program to use costly deposit accounts to access their earnings and in the process harvested more than $10 million in fees from the workers. Walmarts Spark Driver program uses gig workers to make last-mile deliveries from Walmart stores across the U.S.

Payment Services 298

Payment Services Accounting Consumer ATS 298

Inside Retail

JANUARY 2, 2025

Children’s clothing retailer Blue Sky Kids Land has been fined more than $5.1 million for exploiting Chinese migrants. The company previously operated stores in Sydney, NSWs Central Coast, Newcastle and Canberra, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). The penalties include a $4.3 million penalty against Blue Sky Kids Land, $760,000 against company director Guo Dong Gu, and $43,000 against company director Fei Rong Yang.

Payment Services 255

Payment Services ATS Accessories Fashion 255

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Retail Focus

JANUARY 3, 2025

London Designer Outlet (LDO) has announced that during the course of 2024 sales figures grew by 5% to over 103m. The designer outlet, located in Wembley Park , has attracted shoppers from across London and beyond throughout the last 12 months with footfall increasing by 2% with over 5.4 million people visiting LDO. The strong sales and footfall growth was helped by LDO reporting its strongest Black Friday ever with sales increasing by 12% on 2023, including 749,000 of sales during the Saturday

Location 147

Location Shopping Management Marketing 147

Retail Gazette

JANUARY 1, 2025

Asda has kicked off the new year by cutting prices on more than 2,500 household essentials, offering an average discount of 26% both in-store and online. The grocer’ s initiative, part of its Big Jan Price Drop, includes well-known brands such as Cathedral City Mature Cheddar, Dolmio Bolognese Sauce, and Persil Wonder Wash, alongside reductions on Asda own-brand items like whole chicken and salmon fillets.

Supermarket 109

Supermarket Grocer Management 109

Retail TouchPoints

DECEMBER 31, 2024

Welcome to the world of retail returns, an expensive, cumbersome yet essential part of the industry. The number of returns is growing and managing them is critically important to maintaining margins and customer satisfaction. Consider these facts: total returns amounted to $743 billion in merchandise in 2023 and in 2022; approximately 16.5% of all purchased goods were returned to retailers.

Returns 311

Returns Payment Services Shipping Fulfillment 311

Inside Retail

JANUARY 2, 2025

PAG Asia Capital failed to reach an $800 million deal to sell Craveable Brands the parent of Oporto, Red Rooster and Chargrill Charlie’s to Affinity Equity Partners. The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported that Affinity backed out from its bid to acquire Craveable Brands following due diligence. PAG took ownership of Craveable Brands for $480 million in 2019, when the fast food chain group was generating about $60 million from Oporto, Red Rooster, and Chicken Treat.

ATS 173

ATS 173

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Management

Retail Wire

JANUARY 2, 2025

Tesla saw deliveries fall for the first time in over a decade.

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Retail Gazette

JANUARY 2, 2025

Barbour has seen operating profits rise 15% for the year to 30 April 2024, reaching 39.5m, up from 34.3m the previous year. Despite a 6% drop in turnover, which fell to 322m from 343m, the British fashion retailer managed to boost its profits thanks to effective cost-saving measures and favourable foreign exchange ratesamid what it described as “relentless” cost and pricing pressures.

Wholesale 111

Wholesale Fashion Fulfillment Management 111

Retail TouchPoints

JANUARY 2, 2025

Temu just became the second most visited ecommerce site, bumping incumbent Ebay to #3 after years of no changes to the list. Its clear that the retail landscape has undergone a seismic shift, with platforms like Temu, alongside Shein, Wish and TikTok Shop, promising extremely discounted goods that cut out the middleman and the markup. These platforms have revolutionized the way consumers shop, offering convenience, variety and competitive pricing at the click of a button.

Consumer 289

Consumer Shipping Shopping Marketing 289

Inside Retail

JANUARY 1, 2025

As the dust settles on the holiday season, January provides retailers with a valuable opportunity to turn insights from the holiday rush into actionable improvements. With Valentines Day and Easter still weeks away, now is the perfect time to enhance the customer experience (CX) and invest in training your team for the year ahead. Customer experience enhancements: start small, think big Use holiday insights to personalise CX The data gathered during the holiday season offers invaluable insights

Payment Services 130

Payment Services Checkout Customer Experience Returns 130

Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker

Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.

Finance

Retail Wire

JANUARY 3, 2025

Del Taco continues expanding its offerings.

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Retail Gazette

JANUARY 3, 2025

End Clothing swung to a loss last year following a botched warehouse overhaul and a slowdown in demand that forced the business to cut its prices. The streetwear retailers parent company Ashworth & Parker posted a pre-tax loss of 43m in the year to end of March, down from a 9m profit the year before, as sales slipped 3.8% to 212.7m, The Times reported.

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Finance Accounting Promotions Consumer 116

Retail TouchPoints

DECEMBER 30, 2024

Convenience store chain Yesway is continuing its aggressive U.S. expansion by opening five new Allsups stores in New Mexico and Texas. In October 2024, the company announced the opening of eight new locations across New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas within a six -month period. These new stores each span 6,277 square feet and operate 24 hours a day, offering a variety of private label products, including fresh bread, milk and eggs, as well as Allsups famous burritos.

Location 290

Location Store Operations Customer Experience ATS 290

Inside Retail

JANUARY 2, 2025

French cosmetics giant L’Oreal said on Monday it had agreed to buy Gowoonsesang Cosmetics, which includes South Korean skincare brand Dr G, from Swiss retailer Migros. The Korean beauty market is dominated by local brands known for being among the world’s most innovative, and increasingly popular overseas as part of a trend for ‘K-Beauty’ Dr G will meet rising demand for K-Beauty and effective yet affordable skincare, L’Oreal said in a statement, adding that it has

Marketing 130

Marketing Consumer 130

Advertiser: ZoomInfo

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Marketing

Retail Wire

DECEMBER 30, 2024

Do you remember JOLT Cola?

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Retail Gazette

JANUARY 2, 2025

Lidl UK has reported a 7% increase in sales over the four-week period leading up to Christmas, driven by strong demand for holiday essentials like turkey and pigs in blankets. The surge in festive shopping pushed the retailers turnover to a record high, exceeding 1bn ($1.25bn) for the first time in its 30-year history in the UK, Reuters reported. It increased its British supply base by 20% this holiday season, which saw it sell over 16 million British pigs in blankets, while its British turkeys

Grocer 106

Grocer Supermarket Marketing Planning 106

Retail TouchPoints

JANUARY 3, 2025

Costco s board of directors has unanimously rejected a shareholder proposal to conduct a study of the retailers diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, saying it reflects the anti-DEI policy bias of the National Center for Public Policy Research , the conservative think tank that proposed the study. The proposal claims that DEI holds litigation, reputational and financial risks to the company, and therefore financial risks to the shareholders, according to materials prepared for the next

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Wholesale ATS Consumer 278

Inside Retail

JANUARY 2, 2025

To kick-start the new year, Inside Retail asked Sacha Laing, Adore Beauty CEO , three questions on leadership, legacy and how hes finding the shift from fashion retailing to beauty. Here, Laings answers give insight as to how his career expertise will drive the transformation of the pureplay beauty retailer into an omnichannel one. This month Adore Beauty will enter its bricks-and-mortar store era after over two decades as a pureplay online retailer.

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Fashion Consumer ATS Accessories 130

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Fulfillment

Retail Wire

JANUARY 1, 2025

Chick-fil-A is all over the world. So why do these two states not have them?

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Retail Gazette

JANUARY 1, 2025

Co-op is set to open 75 new stores this year as it eyes convenience growth. These will include up to 25 new Co-op operated stores with the first stores launching in early 2025 at The Anchorage in Salford Quays and East Benton in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It comes comes as part of wider plans to open 120 new Co-ops over the next four years. Alongside its traditional grocery offering, the stores will include added services including parcel collection and returns, as well as payment services.

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Payment Services Returns Location Planning 98

Retail TouchPoints

JANUARY 2, 2025

For better or worse, 2024 is now in the books, but we cant resist one more look back. The Retail TouchPoints editors have identified 10 of the most-read news stories this past year many of which exemplify key trends that will continue to resonate throughout 2025. Tractor Supply Weeds Out Support for DEI, Environmental and LGBTQ+ Causes (July 1, 2024) Tractor Supply was just one of the several retailers that backtracked on support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as well as

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Payment Services Wholesale Checkout Consumer 278

Inside Retail

JANUARY 2, 2025

Marquee Brands has acquired fashion and lifestyle brand Laura Ashley from Gordon Brothers, promising to retain the heritage British brand’s UK-based team. Marquee said it is poised to expand Laura Ashley’s footprint in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, EMEA and other key regions and has opened a European headquarters in London.

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Wholesale Fashion Marketing ATS 130

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