As with fashion and art, it hasn't taken long for the cosmetics industry to get onboard the craze for NFTs, the digital tokens attributed to a unique product or service.

Fashion sales in stores were lower last month compared to April, the ONS said on Friday. But they remained buoyant online and in a reasonably strong position generally, the figures showed.

Cash continues to lose its appeal, especially among young consumers, as payments using bank notes and coins dropped 35% last year. More than eight in 10 people in Britain now use contactless payment.

Poundland, Pepco and Dealz owner Pepco Group has signed a framework agreement with CCC Austria for the acquisition of up to 29 store leases in Austria.

​A potential UK retail jobs crisis is looming. The number of EU nationals seeking work has collapsed since Brexit, according to a new report from jobs website Indeed, with the decline hurting lower-paid sectors.

​Struggling retailers can breathe a sigh of relief. The UK has extended the ban on commercial evictions until March 2022. That means the moratorium for business tenants won't now expire at the end of this month.

Global mall giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) wants to become a more customer-focused organisation. So the Wesfield owner has appointed Caroline Puechoultres as its new chief customer officer, effective immediately. 

An ambitious plan to transform Oxford Circus into pedestrian-friendly piazzas has been announced with an international design competition kicking off to decide just how the key shopping area will look for decades ahead.

​LVMH announced on Wednesday that it has entered a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to “accelerate innovation and develop new cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) solutions”.

Debenhams may have closed all of its stores, but a new one could open under the Debenhams name. Now owned by Boohoo, the Debenhams brand is the subject of talks regarding the opening of one small shop outside of London.

Chanel expects to be riding high again this year after a tough 2020, with sales forecast to rise in double-digits. That’s according to the company’s CFO on Tuesday after it released its pandemic-hit 2020 figures. 

​H&M Group’s net sales rose as much as 75% in local currencies during Q2 (the March to May period), although given the strengthening Swedish Krona, its revenues translated into ‘only’ a 62% rise on a total basis.

Boohoo’s trading update on Tuesday showed that the pureplay e-tailer continued to prosper in Q1, even after UK physical stores reopened in April, although there were challenges in some markets and margins were squeezed.

Footfall across all UK retail destinations couldn’t maintain some impressive gains made at the start of the month, falling 6.7% week-on-week in the seven days spanning 6-12 June, latest Springboard data shows. 

​Ted Baker’s twice-delayed full-year results looked grim on Monday as the fashion retailer announced a 44%+ drop in revenue and a pre-tax loss that widened by almost 39%. But its CEO was upbeat about its prospects.

Fakes, delays, customs and foreign languages. These are the biggest fears preventing UK e-commerce consumers making cross-border purchases from the EU, according to a new report commissioned by Weglot.