Jan 23NRF 2022: What was new at NRF?Just back from my visit to NRF, I thought it might be helpful to share some of my observations for those who were not able to attend. Here are some of the key themes: 1) AI is Increasingly Useful Retailers are becoming more reliant on Artificial Intelligence, partly thanks to the demands of the pandemic…6 min read
Jan 12Online retail: 20 Predictions for 2022The pandemic. Environmental fears. Uncertain growth in the economy… It’s safe to say there are many factors affecting the future of retail. Moreover, shoppers are becoming increasingly savvy about exactly how and where they spend their money. Arguably no business can afford to be complacent. How to stay competitive? We’ve…Ecommerce9 min read
Dec 6, 2021Online retail: How Did Black Friday 2021 Perform?Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels This year the run up to Black Friday was accompanied by much uncertainty. Of course the ongoing effects of Covid-19 cast doubts. But retailers were also unsure about supply chain issues, staff shortages and general attitudes towards spending. …Retail4 min read
Nov 18, 2021The Death of Third-Party Cookies: What You Need to KnowIn March, Google confirmed it was phasing out third-party cookies, which, by 2023, will be blocked by Chrome web browsers. Although this news is not a complete shock, the digital advertising community is understandably concerned. …Online5 min read
Oct 1, 2021Retail: The Circular EconomyIs this Emerging Trend here to stay? Introduction Our society functions on a linear path in which manufacturers look to constantly improve their products, resulting in a constant cycle of new product releases — all of which feed on finite resources and rely on the obsolescence of earlier models. …Retail6 min read
Oct 25, 2020Retail: What’s happening with the changes to duty-free shopping?Changes to VAT and duty-free shopping? The UK government has announced changes to duty-free shopping and the VAT Retail Export Scheme that will come into effect from 1 January 2021. VAT Retail Export Scheme The VAT Retail Export Scheme, which provided for VAT refunds for overseas visitors buying in British…Retail3 min read
Oct 18, 2020Retail: Headless CommerceA new paradigm that puts retailers back in control What is Headless Commerce? Headless Commerce is an architectural approach to building an e-commerce site that decouples the front-end customer experience from the backend applications that power it — and uses APIs to connect the two. This is a change from the traditional e-commerce platforms…Headless Commerce4 min read
Oct 12, 2020Do you want to be a trendsetter or an order taker?A philosophical question for online retailers Philosophical question This is a philosophical question that I have — do you want to be a trendsetter or an order taker? It’s driven by my observation that many online sites are starting to adopt Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (“AI/ML”) to deliver product recommendations and…Ecommerce4 min read
