All Analysis articles
Most recent first.
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AnalysisCovid-19 five years on: what has changed for retail?
Thanks to new data from Kantar, GfK and EY, we can show you how the pandemic changed the way Brits live and shop five years on, and what these lifestyle changes mean for retail today and for the future.
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AnalysisJohn Lewis: Never Knowingly Undersold sales boost, investment up and Tarry’s first impressions
After a big increase in annual earnings, the mood music at John Lewis Partnership is upbeat as it presses on with a turnaround on the back of improved profitability, productivity and cash generation
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AnalysisRetail salary index: How have wages changed over the last five years?
Retail Week teamed up with job matching platform Adzuna to reveal how much salaries (and vacancies) have shifted since 2020.
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AnalysisWhat next for WHSmith’s high street business as ownership race heads into final furlong?
Critics often said that if WHSmith didn’t exist, no one would bother to invent it. Yet, as things stand, there are at least two private equity firms battling it out to acquire the brand, even if it likely won’t come with the name.
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AnalysisDoes the Walgreens Boots Alliance have a future following $10bn mega sale?
Last week, Boots’ parent company Walgreens was acquired in a $10bn mega deal by private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Who are the brand’s new owners and where does the UK institution fit into its plans?
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AnalysisCharity shops, green brands and Vinted: how do modern women really shop?
In honour of International Women’s Day, we’ve teamed up with CACI to reveal just how nuanced the modern female shoppers are.
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AnalysisLessons from London: How Ocado is using urban warehouses to fulfil customer demand
Customers are always demanding more from retailers, and this is especially true of flexible delivery.
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AnalysisChatbots are now dominant. To make them better, get your data in order
Two years ago next week, OpenAI launched GPT-4. As the AI hype cycle ebbs and flows, it is easy to forget that this felt like a massive step forward in generative AI capabilities
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AnalysisPretty little pivot: will a brand refresh be hit or miss for PLT?
As fast-fashion giant PrettyLittleThing wipes clean its past and rebrands itself as a ‘sophisticated’ and ‘elevated’ brand, Retail Week explores if it will be enough to turn things around
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AnalysisOcado moves out of R&D phase, hoping for positive cash flow next year
The multifaceted technology and retail business is in for a year of big changes. It is hoping that its big spend on tech will start to bring dividends
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AnalysisHow British Land plans to create a ‘fantastic location’ for central London retail
Retail Week speaks to Kate Lea, head of shopping centre leasing at British Land, to find out how the landlord is expanding its central London offering and how it aims to appeal to all types of customers
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AnalysisNew BRC manifesto outlines how retail can drive economic growth
The retail sector has been battling rising crime, Budget policies, shop closures and higher costs.
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AnalysisCharging ahead: How BP is changing the face of forecourts
As BP opens its first retail site in Europe where it’s replaced fuel pumps with electric vehicle (EV) chargers, Retail Week visits its Hammersmith forecourt to find out more about the offering and how this will drive future rollouts.
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AnalysisSt David’s Square: What to expect from the £17m investment in Cardiff’s retail destination
Institutional landlord Landsec has received approval for a £17m investment in a new pedestrianised city square in Cardiff.
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AnalysisWhat’s next for Shein as regulatory scrutiny and Trump tariffs threaten London float?
Caught between the rock of Trump’s protectionist tariffs in the US and the hard place of an EU crackdown on a “tsunami” of cheap goods, is Shein’s short-lived era of dominance over?
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AnalysisWages are rising but will that filter through to an uptick in consumer spending?
Retailers do not have many reasons to be cheerful right now, but a lift in consumer spending would be a very welcome balm for some of their troubles.
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AnalysisFrom AI to Gen Z – the key takeaways from LIVE: Retail Week x The Grocer
All the key insights and takeaways you may have missed from LIVE: Retail Week x The Grocer 2025.
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AnalysisThe shoplifting epidemic has become ‘anti-capitalist inspo’ for well-off Gen-Zers
Casual pilfering has become a rebellious anti-capitalist statement and a response to cost-of-living pressures for young shoppers. But what can be done to change their minds?
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AnalysisTracking the January Sales and whether retail prices are decreasing
The January sales now occupy a weird position in the British retail calendar.
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AnalysisThe power of search: How retailers can leverage AI in the discovery journey
Search engines are driving £31.4bn in annual non-food UK retail spend, but retailers are underestimating the power search can have on their revenue.