Shopping

[New] Menthol cigarettes are one of the products that will be banned from UK shops as new smoking laws come into effect this year.
Consumers are reliant on digital devices now more than ever, and Business Insider Intelligence predicts that mobile will inch closer to becoming consumers' preferred channel for online shopping within the next five years.
After a bruising year, US department stores and apparel retailers will seek to bounce back in 2020 by closing more locations, shrinking their shops and adding more experiences to attract customers - like old-fashioned tailoring and trendy in-store cafes.
The coronavirus pandemic will vastly accelerate the decline of the British high street, where the number of shops could more than halve in the next two years.
Drastic changes in the capital markets in which shops operate, as well as new demands that younger generations will expect of the advice market, are creating the 'strongest shifts' asset managers have seen in more than 40 years.
Global e-commerce sales are expected to top $4.2 trillion in 2020 and reach more than $6.5 trillion by 2023, with more than 2.1 billion shoppers expected to purchase goods and services online by 2021.
Online returns will become a $550 billion problem for retailers this year due to the rise in online shopping.
UK retailers could be missing out on online sales estimated at £17.1 billion a year by not meeting the needs of disabled shoppers online.
UK consumers will spend more than £4bn getting their caffeine fix from high street coffee shops this year.
Global e-commerce sales are expected to top $4.2 trillion USD in 2020 and reach more than $6.5 trillion by 2023, with more than 2.1 billion shoppers expected to purchase goods and services online by 2021.
The high cost of medical marijuana is expected to decline this year, thanks to the growing number of cannabis producers setting up shop in Australia.
New innovations will continue to emerge in 2019, as retailers and suppliers deliver targeted marketing and new ways to make online shopping more social.
The pressure on malls, especially traditional ones, only intensified last week with Macy's announcement that it will shutter 125 stores in the next three years in underperforming malls and set up shop in community-style strip centers instead.
The number of online shoppers worldwide is expected to continue growing: from 1.66 billion in 2016 to 2.1 billion in 2021.
With 85% of the Netherlands' population shopping online in an e-commerce market worth an estimated €23.7 billion, it could be a fertile market for brands and retailers to unlock their selling potential and reach new customers.
More than 165 million people are expected to go shopping between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday this year.
Spending at big brand coffee shops, from Costa Coffee to Starbucks, will reach an all-time high this year, with sales up £1bn since 2015.
By 2021 roughly 93% of UK internet users are expected to do online shopping, the highest online shopping penetration rate in Europe, with Germany, France, Spain, and Italy closely following suit.
Consumers are also less likely to head outdoors for purchases, favoring online shopping instead while the coronavirus exists: With supporting logistics limping back into operation, consumer demand in China could see a short burst in late Q1 and Q2 2020.
Shopping trends are clearly shifting and UK consumers are increasingly shunning the high-street in favour of online platforms, which offer the immediacy expected; 48% of UK consumers intend to increase their use of digital shopping channels.
Services such as the Loop are piggybacking on the growth of online food shopping in UK, where sales are expected to increase by 45% between now and 2024 to create a £16.7bn market.
In the retail sector roughly 93 percent of UK internet users are expected to do online shopping by 2021, the highest online shopping penetration rate in Europe.

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Last updated: 24 May 2020