BRC welcomes Burnham's rates reform talk, but he is likely to be thinking of redistributing burden from pubs and small businesses and onto the big chains the BRC represents. I doubt that he plans to reduce the overall bill for retail. www.retail-week.com/people/burnh...
Burnham will make high streets a measure of his success
Apparent prime minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham has signalled that thriving high streets will be one measure of whether he delivers on his ambitions.
www.retail-week.com
June 29, 2026 at 1:50 PM
BRC welcomes Burnham's rates reform talk, but he is likely to be thinking of redistributing burden from pubs and small businesses and onto the big chains the BRC represents. I doubt that he plans to reduce the overall bill for retail. www.retail-week.com/people/burnh...
Bain reckons shoppers will allow AI agents to grocery shop for them at multiple stores, splitting orders to get best price and scheduling multiple deliveries that the customer has to stay in for. Yes shoppers *could* do this. But they will not. www.bain.com/insights/onl...
Online Grocery: Pricing for Both Humans and Bots
AI shopping agents will test pricing strategies designed around human psychology alone.
www.bain.com
June 18, 2026 at 9:27 AM
Bain reckons shoppers will allow AI agents to grocery shop for them at multiple stores, splitting orders to get best price and scheduling multiple deliveries that the customer has to stay in for. Yes shoppers *could* do this. But they will not. www.bain.com/insights/onl...
The Internet of Things bullshit is back with an AI makeover.
June 1, 2026 at 1:23 PM
The Internet of Things bullshit is back with an AI makeover.
Google's Gemini goes all Spursy
May 31, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Google's Gemini goes all Spursy
Reposted by Patrick O'Brien
you can, but you won't www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
You can now ’conversationally’ order Grubhub and Uber Eats with Alexa Plus
Groceries and travel are on the horizon, too.
www.theverge.com
March 31, 2026 at 2:25 PM
you can, but you won't www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Top shrinkflation skills from P&G on Fairy washing powder: reduce size, but claim its the same number of washes by saying you need less powder per wash of the same formulation. Same price.
February 18, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Top shrinkflation skills from P&G on Fairy washing powder: reduce size, but claim its the same number of washes by saying you need less powder per wash of the same formulation. Same price.
The new voice AI chatbot on Just Eat needs a bit of work. A request for Chicken "jail frazee" results in a link to a vegetarian restaurant. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
January 27, 2026 at 11:05 AM
The new voice AI chatbot on Just Eat needs a bit of work. A request for Chicken "jail frazee" results in a link to a vegetarian restaurant. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Shein has another 3.5 years of being able to send parcels to the UK without import duty.
November 26, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Shein has another 3.5 years of being able to send parcels to the UK without import duty.
So farewell then Amazon Fresh.
You were the future once
"Just walk out", you said
Shame you didn't give us any reasons
To come back again
You were the future once
"Just walk out", you said
Shame you didn't give us any reasons
To come back again
September 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
So farewell then Amazon Fresh.
You were the future once
"Just walk out", you said
Shame you didn't give us any reasons
To come back again
You were the future once
"Just walk out", you said
Shame you didn't give us any reasons
To come back again
ONS explains the retail sales data delay but it just confirms why we have never taken much notice of its "seasonally adjusted" numbers www.ons.gov.uk/businessindu...
Retail sales, Great Britain - Office for National Statistics
Retail sales rose across all main sectors, according to a first estimate.
www.ons.gov.uk
September 5, 2025 at 8:46 AM
ONS explains the retail sales data delay but it just confirms why we have never taken much notice of its "seasonally adjusted" numbers www.ons.gov.uk/businessindu...
We have often had quality concerns about ONS retail data, and now, so does the ONS. uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/ons-del...
ONS delays retail sales data to address quality issues
It is the latest in a string of setbacks regarding data published by the statistics body.
uk.finance.yahoo.com
August 19, 2025 at 1:02 PM
We have often had quality concerns about ONS retail data, and now, so does the ONS. uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/ons-del...
Morrisons Harrow must have been high on their own supply when spending £££s installing locked cabinets for its whiskey. They thought shoppers would 'buzz for booze' and wait patiently for help. They've sobered up now and opened the doors.
July 14, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Morrisons Harrow must have been high on their own supply when spending £££s installing locked cabinets for its whiskey. They thought shoppers would 'buzz for booze' and wait patiently for help. They've sobered up now and opened the doors.
Oh no StubHub, please don't go, you provide such a valuable service to us all such as inflating ticket prices and showcasing best in class drip pricing www.ft.com/content/7cba...
StubHub threatens UK exit if government imposes reseller ticket price caps
Operators of secondary sites warn limit would have unintended consequences
www.ft.com
June 16, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Oh no StubHub, please don't go, you provide such a valuable service to us all such as inflating ticket prices and showcasing best in class drip pricing www.ft.com/content/7cba...
Shein raises prices for US customers but UK shoppers STILL pay more than they do
April 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Shein raises prices for US customers but UK shoppers STILL pay more than they do
The irrepressible Joel Hills, business editor at ITV News, is running the London marathon in memory of his colleagues and raising money to sponsor a journalist student at Cardiff University. You can help here... www.justgiving.com/page/joel-hi...
Help me honour five much-loved colleagues and save journalism
Help Joel Hills raise money to support Cardiff University
www.justgiving.com
April 24, 2025 at 1:13 PM
The irrepressible Joel Hills, business editor at ITV News, is running the London marathon in memory of his colleagues and raising money to sponsor a journalist student at Cardiff University. You can help here... www.justgiving.com/page/joel-hi...
Not quite Colgate Beef Lasagna in terms of brand over-extension, but still a bit of a stretch
www.thegrocer.co.uk/comment-and-...
www.thegrocer.co.uk/comment-and-...
BrewDog or lapdog? The craft beer rebel’s sauce range is far from punk
For a brand that once defined itself by challenging the status quo, BrewDog's sauce range feels surprisingly conventional, says Gareth Turner, director at Big Black Door
www.thegrocer.co.uk
April 23, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Not quite Colgate Beef Lasagna in terms of brand over-extension, but still a bit of a stretch
www.thegrocer.co.uk/comment-and-...
www.thegrocer.co.uk/comment-and-...
To my teenage daughter I am obviously totally uncool, as is my job. But this clip from the news that I was on last night somehow popped up in her TikTok feed. She's pretending not to be impressed, in case I get carried away. vm.tiktok.com/ZNdY1kg86/
itvnews on TikTok
The boss of Sainsbury’s and Argos is calling on the UK government to close a tax loophole that allows small parcels to enter the country tax-free. He warns that, due to the US-China trade war, cheap goods from China could flood the UK market. British retallers argue this gives foreign companies like Temu and Shein an unfair advantage. #itvnews #shein #tariffs #taxloophole
vm.tiktok.com
April 18, 2025 at 1:38 PM
To my teenage daughter I am obviously totally uncool, as is my job. But this clip from the news that I was on last night somehow popped up in her TikTok feed. She's pretending not to be impressed, in case I get carried away. vm.tiktok.com/ZNdY1kg86/
Reposted by Patrick O'Brien
New casual options (between the mochi stand and the nail bar) at Westfield: IV drips.
April 13, 2025 at 4:18 PM
New casual options (between the mochi stand and the nail bar) at Westfield: IV drips.
I for one expected so much more from a company that describes itself as an 'investment boutique'
Oh, FFS. The new private-equity owners of WH Smith high st stores are rebranding them 'TG Jones'.
It's a made up name. "We wanted to keep that sense of a family business."
There's cynical and souless branding. And then there's TG Jones.
www.ft.com/content/ca32...
It's a made up name. "We wanted to keep that sense of a family business."
There's cynical and souless branding. And then there's TG Jones.
www.ft.com/content/ca32...
What does TGJones mean?
That old, familial feeling
www.ft.com
March 28, 2025 at 12:05 PM
I for one expected so much more from a company that describes itself as an 'investment boutique'
RIP WH Smith. I feel I should now confess that in the mid 80s I used to return ZX Spectrum games having copied them and then recorded over them to make them appear faulty. No wonder you only sold for £76m.
March 28, 2025 at 11:01 AM
RIP WH Smith. I feel I should now confess that in the mid 80s I used to return ZX Spectrum games having copied them and then recorded over them to make them appear faulty. No wonder you only sold for £76m.
WH Smith shares down almost 4% today, following disappointingly low sale price for the high street arm.
March 28, 2025 at 10:45 AM
WH Smith shares down almost 4% today, following disappointingly low sale price for the high street arm.
Oh Decathlon, I'm so sorry, I...I... I've been busy, I'll get to it right away. Please forgive me.
March 24, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Oh Decathlon, I'm so sorry, I...I... I've been busy, I'll get to it right away. Please forgive me.
So Asda has started a massive price war today - but are the price cuts they've highlighted all that they seem? (1/5) Data below is from GlobalData Online Price Intelligence...
March 21, 2025 at 5:20 PM
So Asda has started a massive price war today - but are the price cuts they've highlighted all that they seem? (1/5) Data below is from GlobalData Online Price Intelligence...
"Hey babes, have a guess whether you need to check or uncheck boxes to unsubscribe from White Fox, cause we ain't telling ya"
March 10, 2025 at 2:00 PM
"Hey babes, have a guess whether you need to check or uncheck boxes to unsubscribe from White Fox, cause we ain't telling ya"