Tuesday to be UK’s busiest shopping day December 17, 2014 THE UK high street will have its busiest shopping day of the year two days before Christmas, with Visa Europe predicting spending to peak at £1.3bn for the day. Spending is forecast to rise six per cent and transactions seven per cent from last year. Tuesday 23 December is predicted to see 34m transactions in [...]
Dixons CEO Sebastian James: Forget Game of Thrones we’re all Octopus December 17, 2014 No one enjoys management speak (well except for compliance teams). Thankfully for us, Sebastian James, chief executive at Dixons Carphone, has not let the heat in the post-merger kitchen sweat out his colourful cultural references. Speaking about Black Friday at the firm’s results conference yesterday, James likened the company’s website to a certain spaceship. “It [...]
Black Friday has eclipsed Boxing Day, says Dixons Carphone boss Sebastian James December 17, 2014 Dixons Carphone boss Sebastian James said Black Friday was the new Boxing Day, after feverish demand for cut-price televisions and gadgets turned the American-made sales event into its busiest shopping day ever. The group said at its peak on 28 November, the retailer had five times the web traffic of an average day and put [...]
Exclusive: Britain’s small businesses are being held back by “digital immaturity” December 17, 2014 Britain's small businesses are missing huge opportunities by failing to adapt adequately to the digital age, according to research published today. The UK's embrace of the American retail tradition of Black Friday has served to highlight how businesses are falling behind their customers. Mobile has become a key part of the consumer experience. On Black [...]
Tesco quarterly sales show sign of turn around following profit warning December 16, 2014 Tesco has enjoyed its best quarterly sales performance since June, according to the latest industry data, giving investors in the troubled supermarket chain some reason to cheer following last week’s profit warning. Sales fell by 2.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to 7 December, a slowdown on the 3.7 per cent decline recorded in [...]
Online growth at record high December 16, 2014 SHOPPERS splurged £12.1bn online last month thanks to the sales frenzy surrounding Black Friday weekend, marking a record spike in November sales. E-tail industry body IMRG and advisory firm Capgemini said online sales increased by 37 per cent on the previous month – the biggest October-November rise in the 14-year history of its index. Electricals, [...]
Christmas 2014: Amazon delivering until December 24, while Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser and Asos face capacity problems December 16, 2014 Worried you've left it too late to order Christmas presents online? You need to get your skates on if you want to avoid paying for special delivery, but some retailers are offering premium services up to the last minute. A new survey of retailers has found a number of businesses that promise to deliver [...]
The business that called “bulls***” on Black Friday December 16, 2014 Britons descended into Black Friday madness this year in the scrum to get a cheap telly, but in the States – where the phenomenon has been going much longer – one business called “bulls***” on the whole thing. Literally. Party game Cards Against Humanity – if you don't know, it is really not suitable [...]
UK inflation falls to lowest rate since 2002 thanks to plumetting oil prices December 16, 2014 UK inflation fell to its lowest rate since 2002 in November after petrol costs were cut due to plummeting oil prices. The rate of consumer price growth fell to one per cent last month, the lowest rate for 12 years and down from a 1.3 per cent rate in October. Any hopes investors [...]
23 pictures that sum up 2014 December 15, 2014 The year is drawing to an end so it's time to take a look back at 2014 in pictures. In January, workers at the French Goodyear factory went on strike and then took two executives hostage after it was announced that the company was going to close the plant, with the loss of more [...]