‘Permacrisis’ was declared the word of 2022, so what might 2023 bring? There are reasons for cautious optimism, but first retailers are going to have to buckle up and brace themselves for more turbulence. Spending more to buy less Let’s briefly recap on retail’s Golden Quarter. Christmas was not the Read more…
We went from Black Friday to Black November, but this year I’d say we’re having a Black Autumn. There has been a constant stream of discounts since September. This is particularly true in fashion, where a combination of unseasonably warm weather and cost-of-living pressures have really dampened demand. Yes, people Read more…
Paid partnership with Manhattan Associates Greetings from Germany! I’m here at the Manhattan Exchange in Berlin and am super excited to share with you a new report that I’ve authored for Manhattan Associates: Recalibrating for the Next Normal. The pandemic may have accelerated digital transformation strategies, but what comes next? Read more…
Future of e-commerce? Stores, of course! Big media day yesterday covering the news that Amazon has debuted its checkout-free store concept in London. This is watershed moment for U.K. retail. Amazon is known for disrupting the status quo, raising customer expectations and forcing competitors to raise their game. Remember Amazon Read more…
Knowing your customer is essential in the best of times. In a post-pandemic world, it will be the difference between survival and failure. I had the pleasure to work with Klarna on their latest report Clicks and Cliques: Understanding Modern Shoppers where we identified five distinct shopper tribes for the Read more…
Natalie Berg joins Karl McKeever, MD of Visual Thinking, as co-host of The Retail Exchange‘s final podcast episode of the year. If you were trying to end this year by winning a prize for its greatest understatement, you could describe 2020 as ‘eventful’. It is difficult in many respects to Read more…
What will shopping look like in 2021, 2025 and 2030? I had the pleasure of speaking to Raconteur for this annual supplement in The Times. Always an interesting read but especially this year given that we are in the middle of a pandemic that has upended the industry like nothing Read more…
Ding dong, Avon calling! The direct selling channel is one of the few bright spots in retail right now. But how does a model that is based on human interaction adapt to today’s challenge of social distancing? This week, I had the pleasure of chairing a roundtable discussion hosted by Read more…
In my latest long read for Forbes, I explore how London’s green recovery will create opportunities for local retail: Across the UK, city streets are quietly undergoing radical transformation. Temporary cycle lanes have popped up, footways widened to enable social distancing and, perhaps most drastically, residential roads are being blocked Read more…
As Britain’s ‘non-essential’ retailers prepare to reopen their doors in the coming weeks, one of the biggest challenges they face will be convincing shoppers to walk through the door. And, no, I don’t just mean from a safety perspective; I’m talking about the additional friction that shoppers will inevitably encounter. Read more…