Breakfast briefing: Retail news on Scottish retail sales, Debenhams, Thorntons,

Retail sales in Scotland slow sharply in November

Retail sales in Scotland grew 1.6% in November, a sharp slowdown from the 2.1% growth recorded in October, according to BRC figures. The slowdown will concern Scottish retailers and suggests caution among customers ahead of the important festive trading period, Herald Scotland reported.

Debenhams appoints iCrossing to manage search strategy

Digital marketing agency iCrossing has been appointed by Debenhams to oversee its natural search strategy, The Drum reported. In a move to drive its e-commerce growth, the department store and online retailer will be working with iCrossing and its own in-house marketing and SEO team to boost sales accruing from such searches throughout 2014. The move dovetails with a site migration recently completed by the retailer, which iCrossing will provide assistance with.

Thorntons hires TH_NK as lead digital agency in run up to Christmas

Chocolatier Thorntons has appointed TH_NK as its lead digital agency, starting with a number of Christmas initiatives, The Drum reported. TH-Nk will be supporting important web and mobile projects delivery, boost engagement on social channels, trial new fulfillment options, and implement advanced measurement and analytics in a bid to shape Thorntons’ digital direction for 2014.