Retailers

Apr- 2017 -

20 April

New credit card uses fingerprints

A new credit card that combines chip technology with fingerprints for in-store purchases has been unveiled by Mastercard. The new biometric card has been tested in South Africa, with two separate trials recently concluded with Pick n Pay, a leading supermarket retailer, and Absa Bank, a subsidiary of Barclays Africa. The new…

19 April

Small business confidence continues to rise

UK small business confidence is at its highest level in over a year, according to the latest Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Small Business Index (SBI). Despite a rise in business costs there has been a strong recovery pushed forward due to increased international trade. A net balance of 15.6…

12 April

BRC: Retail sales growth hits six-year low

UK retail sales have decreased 1 percent on a like-for-like basis, a report by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed. The latest BRC – KPMG Retail Sales Monitor – covering the five weeks from 26 February to 1 April – found total retail sales fell by 0.2 percent in…

10 April

Retail footfall expected to grow 5.4% over Easter weekend

Retail footfall in the UK is set to increase 5.4 percent over the Easter weekend, according to retail expert Springboard. The prediction comes after March retail footfall results showed there was a year-on-year increase of 1.2 percent. This increase broke the six-month consecutive decline. The projected increase was said to…

7 April

Bank closures cause concern for SMEs

Following the closing of more Lloyds Banking Group’s branches, The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has expressed concern about what this would mean for SMEs. FSB national chairman, Mike Cherry, said: “It is very worrying to see yet more local bank branches being shut down, leaving small business customers without the…

4 April

Amazon takes on bricks-and-mortar stores with cash sales

Amazon has launched a new feature called Amazon Cash, making physical money payments possible for online goods. The new service has been released in order to help those without bank accounts or debit/credit cards and is only available in the US at current. Customers receive a barcode from Amazon that…

3 April

Help over licensing response needed

The three pet trade associations are asking for help on where pet shops source their animals from, as they look at how to respond to proposed changes to licensing in England. Pet Industry Federation, the Reptile & Exotic Pet Trade Association and the Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association want pet shops…

Mar- 2017 -

23 March

Celebrities visit new Bow Wow London Dog Grooming Salon

Bow Wow London Dog Grooming Salon enjoyed a celebrity-packed opening at 17 Little Russell Street, Central London on 22 March 2017. Amanda Holden and Maria Friedman attended the launch along with their four-legged friends, Buddy the Shichon (Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise cross) and Bingy the Shih Tzu. The new dog grooming…

17 March

Relief for self-employed following NIC U-turn

Self-employed Brits will not face a hike on Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) as the Chancellor makes a U-turn. It was announced in the Spring Budget 2017 that the self-employed would be asked to contribute more National Insurance. Mike Cherry, FSB national chairman, said:“We are delighted for our members and all…

15 March

Budget a ‘disaster’ for pet stores, says new PIF Chair

The newly appointed chair of the Pet Industry Federation (PIF) has spoken out against the recent budget, calling it a ‘disaster’ for small high street pet stores. Referring to the announcement last week by the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, that business rates would not be reduced for small businesses, Steve Fowler,…