Furniture retailer, John Lewis of Hungerford, has launched its Christmas advertisement, created by TMW Unlimited. And, while this John Lewis ad is full of the heartstring-tugging, tear-jerking spirit of Christmas, this time there’s not a penguin in sight. The ad is set
FedEx Corp. predicts it will move a record-breaking 317m shipments globally between Black Friday (27 November 2015) and Christmas Eve (24 December 2015). This forecast marks a 12.4% increase in year-over-year seasonal volume. The season is expected to be bolstered by three volume spikes,
Brits are not waiting for Christmas to get spending at the shops. New research by intu, the owner, developer and manager of many of the UK’s prime shopping centres, shows the majority of British adults have a full shopping list
Thousands of children are expected to wake up with a surprise this Christmas morning after a professional architectural design kit has swept the toy market. Modular building system Arckit was invented as a tool for architects and home builders, but
Bluewater, Europe’s leading retail and leisure destination, is welcoming back the Science Museum for a second year running in the build up to Christmas. The 1,250sq ft pop-up store will be located on the upper Thames Walk, adjacent to House of
Royal Mail has launched a drive to recruit around 19,000 temporary workers to help sort the Christmas post. Temporary positions across a variety of shifts will be available between mid-November through to early January 2015. The peak of the additional
Christmas is the perfect time for bringing families together, and an award-winning game series is set to be this year’s must-have stocking filler to ensure the time loved ones spend together is quality time, allowing them to really connect, share
Hermes, the consumer delivery specialist, has announced the return of its money back delivery guarantee this Christmas. This unique initiative will provide retailers and their customers with peace of mind ahead of the 2015 peak season. The Hermes Guaranteed Christmas
Food and drink retailer Booths is offering the definitive Great Northern Christmas to gourmands across Britain this year, offering nationwide delivery on their superb Christmas range. With 31 stores across Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester, the award-winning retailer
Symbol group Spar UK reports it is already having a very happy 2015, with excellent Christmas and New Year trading figures, striking Shop & Win campaign results, and Spar brand back on TV screens to boot. Spar said its like-for-like wholesale
The volume of items purchased from the UK’s leading supermarkets increased year-on-year for the first time since mid-July 2013, according to the latest data from global information and insights company Nielsen. Sales volume increased +0.6% during the four weeks ending 3 January 2015 versus
Sainsbury’s was the top performer of the big four at Christmas and has regained its number two grocery retailer slot, behind Tesco, the latest Kantar Worldpanel data shows. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said:
UK retail sales declined by 0.4%, on a like-for-like basis from December 2013, when they had increased 0.4% on the preceding year, according to the December BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. On a total basis, sales were up 1.0%, against a
Home furnishings company IKEA today announces a successful trading performance for the first 16 weeks of the financial year, which saw the company break its own record for sales performance for the post-Christmas sale period. The first 16 weeks of the
Booths, the family owned regional food and drink retailer, has recorded modest gains on its Christmas results with a total sales increase of +0.6% in the six-week Christmas trading period (ending 3 January 2015). Like -for-like sales decreased by -0.8%. In a
Marks & Spencer has delivered a mixed bag of results in the third quarter. Food performed well with sales up 2.8% and 0.1% on a like-for-like basis in the 13 weeks to 27 December 2014 with record sales in the key
Health and wellbeing retailer, LloydsPharmacy, today announced its most successful Christmas trading performance in seven years. Early deals saw the company’s 2014 gifting performance increase by 33% compared to the previous year (bricks and mortar estate). During the core promotional
Sainsbury’s has reported a fall in like-for-like sales over the key Christmas trading period. The supermarket said same store sales fell 1.7%, excluding fuel, in the 14 weeks to 3 January 2014; impacted by food price deflation – the BRC-Nielsen
The Fragrance Shop, the UK’s largest independent fragrance retailer, has experienced a successful festive period, with total sales up 11.8% – and underlying like-for-like sales up 5% in the five weeks to December 27 – compared with the same period last year.
Maplin reports it has seen its best ever Christmas Day online sales and had strong trading results over the entire Christmas period, with store and online sales rising 11% year-on-year for the festive season. In the four weeks to 26
CollectPlus, the UK’s largest independent store-based delivery and returns service, has revealed that the UK’s first Christmas present was returned on Christmas Day at 1.53am. Even before Santa had finished his rounds, one CollectPlus customer made an early morning trip
As the countdown to the festive season begins, law firm, Gardner Leader reminds retailers juggling holiday requests to check their policy for lone workers following a recent health & safety breach. This warning from one of the largest law firms
Discount supermarkets are set to win the battle for this year’s Christmas dinner table as Brits shun the mainstream high street brands and head to their cheaper rivals for their festive food, says Barclaycard. Data from the UK’s leading payments
Boris Huard, managing director of Experian Data Quality, on the role that data has played in driving the adoption and reliance on ecommerce in the run-up to Christmas this year “This year Black Friday surpassed everyone’s expectations with British consumers spending an estimated £810m in
A recent survey by Wayfair.co.uk reveals nearly two thirds of Brits will buy a pet a Christmas present this year. Whether it’s their pet or not, 62% of the 1,528 people surveyed, will include their furry friends in the gifting rounds, with
