Showing 1,865 posts

1Q20 US Earnings Season Wrap-Up: Reviewing the Covid-19 Impact

First-quarter 2020 retail earnings include the negative impact on sales caused by the coronavirus outbreak. We assess the recent performance of US retailers in terms of revenues, earnings per share and comps, considering consensus estimates and year-over-year changes. With retail sectors weathering the Covid-19 crisis in different ways, sales declines are now easing due to stores reopening post lockdown, but the pace of recovery will vary.

Read More

Do Not Touch: Contactless Technologies for Retail

We explore the adoption and evolution of contactless and contact-light technologies at various stages of the shopping journey, including ordering, checkout, payment and delivery. With the Covid-19 pandemic fueling the development of such technologies—due to heightened consumer sensitivity to safety and out of necessity during temporary store shutdowns—retailers are likely to introduce more innovations to remove physical contact in transactions over the long term.

Read More

New Retail Briefing: E-Commerce Platforms Launch Key Strategies To Support Businesses in China and the US Post Pandemic

E-commerce platforms in China have been rolling out new strategies to support businesses in China and the US in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. We discuss these recent developments in New Retail, which include the extension of payment terms for US buyers by Alibaba.com and JD.com’s plans to upgrade its logistics network to better serve lower-tier markets in China.

Read More

Beauty Insights: Opportunities in India’s Beauty and Personal Care Market

As part of our Beauty Insights series, we explore the beauty and personal care market in India and the opportunities that it presents to international brands and retailers. We detail the industry’s key growth drivers—considering population demographics, the e-commerce channel and evolving consumer trends—and discuss the competitive landscape, which includes international players such as L’Oréal, Estée Lauder and Sephora. We also assess the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the India’s beauty sector against the backdrop of easing nationwide lockdowns.

Read More

Retail Innovators: REITs

The Coresight Research Retail Innovators series examines how key players and startups are disrupting different retail sectors. In this report, we focus on five disruptors in the REITs sector that are offering innovative data and technology solutions to real-estate owners. We also highlight the ways in which some REITs in the US are introducing innovation, such as by adding entertainment to properties.

Read More

May 2020 UK Retail Sales: Partial Rebound in Discretionary Sector Even Before Most Stores Reopen

UK retail sales saw improvement in May after April’s deep declines, aided by a strong performance in DIY and hardware-store sales as these were deemed essential by the government and were thus allowed to stay open during lockdown. Some sectors also began to reopen in May after coronavirus-led temporary closures. We review May data for UK retail in total and by sector.

Read More