In fact, up until the last few years, this service has traditionally been enjoyed free of charge for the majority of online shoppers.  However, due to an increased desire to reduce the cost impact on a retailer’s revenue, many retailers are now charging  for returns. For example, since the pandemic began, several fast fashion retailers have taken up the practice.

Forter, the Trust Platform for digital commerce, has released findings from its 2024 Consumer Trust Premium Report, which explores the evolving relationship between consumer shopping habits and brand trust, based on 2,000 survey respondents in the US and UK.

GreyOrange Inc. has introduced SoftFence, a virtual shielding technology from its retail software as a service (SaaS) platform, gStore. Designed to enhance store execution through real-time inventory management and intelligent tasking, gStore is already trusted for implementing over 250 overhead RFID-enabled stores, which is a global first.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to cut through the noise of the loud marketing trends and tactics nowadays, and to truly connect with the right people. Consumers want more than just a great product – they want experiences that surprise, delight, and feel personal - that’s where the power of unexpected brand partnerships comes in.

The team at fulfilmentcrowd – a global fulfilment provider, driven by technology, for high growth omnichannel brands - shares common pain points for retailers as peak season approaches, offering advice on how retailers can salvage a bad peak, including considerations for switching fulfilment provider during mid-season.

As we look ahead to the next year, retailers are focusing on strategic priorities that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance operational efficiency and elevate customer satisfaction as Rory O’Connor, founder & CEO of Scurri, explains.

In the recent 2-3 years, an increasing number of malls and retail chains have adopted real-time video analytics and facial recognition to enhance security, customer experience and footfall analysis.

Cimcorp is a provider of intralogistics solutions, simplifying material flows and improving customers’ profitability by offering innovative and efficient solutions for automation.

Zedify, the UK cargo bike delivery network, has secured a further £4m investment from Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, Mercia Ventures, the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) and Green Angel Syndicate.

Aramex UK, one of the UK’s global logistics and transportation providers, has urged for calm amid British retailers rushing to bring forward their Christmas plans this year due to ongoing trade route disruptions in the Middle East.

Blackstone is close to acquiring Retail Opportunity Investments Corp, which owns U.S. shopping centers worth $3.4 billion including debt. Other private equity firms, including Bain Capital, are also interested. The deal could be finalized in the coming weeks if negotiations succeed. ROIC has raised rents significantly amidst high inflation, making it an attractive target.

Returnless refunds are a tool that more retailers are using to keep online shoppers happy and to reduce shipping fees, processing time and other ballooning costs from returned products. Companies such as Amazon, Walmart and Target have decided some items are not worth the cost or hassle of getting back. Think a $20 T-shirt that might cost $30 in shipping and handling to recover.

Retail leasing in India's top eight cities dipped slightly in the third quarter of 2024, driven by strong demand on main streets and limited mall supply. While overall leasing edged down 1%, main streets accounted for 68% of activity, pushing rental rates up in several cities.

Reliance Retail is temporarily closing its Centro stores across India to revamp the format. The company plans to prioritize its own brands, like Azorte and Yousta, potentially phasing out some of the 450 local and global brands currently sold.

India witnessed a surge in gig employment opportunities during the 2024 festive season, with over 1.2 million roles posted. This growth, a 23% increase from the previous year, was fueled by e-commerce expansion and a shift towards flexible work arrangements. Tier II cities are emerging as new gig hubs, while higher pay is attracting skilled professionals.

Furnishka will use the new capital to advance product design and development, strengthen manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, and expand to new geographies. The company will also expand its product categories focused on premium living room, dining room and bedroom collections, open six large-format stores, and create educational content to guide customers.

India's retail inflation rose to 6.21 percent in October. This is a significant increase from September's 5.49 percent. Food prices are the main reason for this surge. This is the first time since August that inflation has gone beyond the Reserve Bank of India's 6 percent limit. The rise in onion prices is a major concern.

At 11:06 a.m., the public issue was subscribed 1.09 times. The retail category was subscribed 4.08 times, while the NII portion garnered 1.18 times bids. There were no bids from qualified institutional buyers so far.

Pernia's Pop-Up Shop is raising funds for its initial public offering. The company plans to use the funds to expand its retail network and become debt-free. The retailer aims to open more stores in Mumbai and Delhi. Pernia's Pop-Up Shop sells designer wear from various brands. The company achieved significant revenue growth in the last financial year.

9Skin, co-founded by actress Nayanthara, partners with Reliance Retail's Tira to expand into offline retail in India. This collaboration launches the exclusive Skinderella Hydrogel Mask. The partnership aims to offer innovative, natural skincare solutions, now available both online and offline through Tira's network.

Highlighting the brand’s expansion trajectory in terms of physical retail presence, Sanjay Sharma, Country Head of Shiseido India said that since launching with 15 touchpoints last year, NARS has already doubled its reach to 30 points in India and plans to double again in the next two years.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: The United States set a new record yesterday for the most new coronavirus cases reported in a single day - more than 68,000. The previous high mark was set just the day before. The pandemic is stressing medical resources in several states like California, Arizona, Texas and Florida that have seen dramatic surges in recent days. The country's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, this week referred to this moment as a perfect storm of viral contagion, all of which has intensified the debate about what the country - each of us, really - can do to slow down the spread of the virus, like wearing a face mask. Today President Trump was seen wearing a mask in public during a visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. But the president has sent mixed messages about this, refusing for months to wear a mask, as health experts recommend. So to begin tonight, we want to focus on a group of

With Halloween coinciding with school half-term and the religious festival of Diwali this year, UK shoppers embraced spooky season, delivering a boost to in-store shopper traffic, the latest data from Sensormaic Solutions, the leading retail traffic consulting and analytics group from Johnson Controls, shows.

By Aviram Ganor, General Manager EMEA, Riskified.

Retailers have plenty to keep them awake at night, whether it’s enticing consumers to shop,  utdoing their competition or – most worrying of all – how to ensure their long-term survival in a rocky economy.

By Georgia Leybourne, Chief Marketing Officer, Linnworks.

Success in ecommerce and retail today hinges on consumer convenience. It is fast becoming a powerful tool in the e-commerce industry, transforming the way businesses engage with their customers and increasing sales through social commerce.

With the holiday season fast approaching, retail payroll teams around the world are bracing for the strain of seasonal hiring.

After adjusting for the retail sales rate of inflation, measured at 3.4% in July, the overall volume of retail sales index decreased 1.5% when compared to July 2023, according to the recently released Retail Sales Index. A Government spokesperson said, “Today, the Ministry of Economy and Labour released the July 2024 Retail Sales Index publication. […]

As the holiday season approaches, retail businesses are gearing up for their annual surge in online (and in-store) traffic. Unfortunately, this increase in activity also attracts cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities for their gain.  Imperva, a Thales company, recently published its annual holiday shopping cybersecurity guide. Data from the Imperva Threat Research team’s

Carvana is America’s fastest-growing e-tailer   February 23, 2022 (New York, NY) – Americans have taken to buying cars online, so much so that ecommerce car dealer Carvana is now […]

In SAS Retail Space Management, it should be possible to click on any location object, then Show Properties, and change the location fill color. This can be done on the gray-filled objects. However, w

Small businesses are keeping a close eye on the possibility of job action as they stock their shelves for Black Friday and holiday shopping.

U.K. technical services company streamlines design cycles and improves communication to help retailers, architects, and designers create compelling interiors

The Learning Company and Dassault Systèmes Form Strategic Licensing Agreement

3D CAD software helps U.K. retail display company compete on creativity, time to market

Apple is set to streamline its retail displays, making way for new Mac models by downgrading the Apple Vision Pro demo experience.

The country’s clothes manufacturers are taking a beating from imported ‘preloved’ clothes and a struggling economy.

Of the three commercial property segments, the industrial market is the strongest performer in terms of activity, an FNB Commercial Property Broker Survey found.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE: Office of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner

Antwerp has long been an attractive retail location in Belgium, while also offering investors an efficient and transparent planning process. 

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) decision to fix the minimum retail price (MRP) of tea at Rs1,200 per kg for levying sales tax would make the commodity more expensive, warned traders on Tuesday.

Pakistan Tea Association (PTA) Chairman Mohammad Altaf said the MRP at the import stage would have an adverse impact of Rs150-300 per kg on imported tea prices.

The flat MRP also ignores global tea prices hovering between 0.50 cents to over $3 per kg. Tea is imported in different packaging, with bulk shipments typically weighing more than 5kgs and around/approximately 80kgs. An 18 per cent general sales tax is already charged based on the imported tea.

He said before fixing the MRP for sales tax purposes, it is crucial to consider that the definition of “manufacturer” in Section 2(16) of the Sales Tax Act 1990, includes activities such as blending, mixing, processing, and packaging, as clarified in Circular No. 3(11) ST-L&P/2013-94433-R dated July 17, 2019. Based on this, tea imported for these processes qualifies as “raw material”.

Tea sellers warn FBR move will incentivise arrival of low-quality product via illegal channels

“According to judicial interpretations (e.g., CTO v. Rajasthan Taxchem Ltd., 2007) and definitions in Advanced Law Lexicon, “raw material” includes ingredients necessary for manufacturing. Tea used in blending and packaging clearly falls under this category, he added.

Accordingly, sales tax should be based on the import value, as per Subsection 46(f) of Section 2 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, rather than the minimum retail price, Altaf said.

Tea retail prices vary significantly due to numerous factors, including the company, method of sale (open or packaged), product quality, and regional differences. The PTA chief said that the flat MRP rate per kg also does not reflect the prices charged by most traders, manufacturers, and sellers.

The imposition of a flat rate per kg would have severe negative consequences for a large portion of the tea trade, which may result in reduced business activity and ultimately lead to a loss of revenue for the national exchequer via misusing several exemptions.

Two-thirds of Pakista­nis purchase tea at Rs700-950 per kg, reflecting socio-economic and regional price variations.

He said that MRP cannot be applied at the import stage as the tea has to follow various value-addition procedures before it is made shelf-ready. “This MRP disrupts the supply chain and eradicates the role of wholesalers and distributors who play a vital role in the business, while MRP at the import stage also eradicates the basic right of commercial imports,” the PTA chief observed.

Tea is a part of our daily diet, a staple food item, not a drink.

Most people in rural and urban areas consume tea as per their earnings. Further fixing of MRP will incentivise unscrupulous elements to exploit the situation, and thus, import of low-priced teas will find its way through illegal channels, Altaf feared.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024

The transaction involves a loan of up to $10,000,000 (or the local currency equivalent) to Araz Supermarket LLC (Araz) for the Veyseloglu Modern Retail Expansion Project in Azerbaijan, and technical assistance (TA) of $500,000 for the Building the Capacity of Smallholder Fruit and Vegetable Farmers for Climate-Resilient Farming.

Family business Graham’s Family Dairy has secured a multinational listing

If it seems like the Christmas shopping season starts earlier every year, you're not wrong. In response to growing customer demand, stores of all stripes brought out their festive collections weeks before the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season.

Fashion Retail Academy Awards 2014

Retailers Push for Greater Payment Security at Checkout to Combat Fraud and Cyber Theft

Eyeglass World launches first retail collection of smart glass technologies in the U.S., including specially designed prescription lens options and hardware for Recon, Vuzix and Epson wearable devices.

don't ever buy pants at the dress store