Including the rejection of a petition which called for shops to close on Boxing Day.
The Source rounds up some of the key retail stories of the week.
MPs have rejected a petition demanding that shops close on Boxing Day. Labour MP for Warrington North, Helen Jones, had said that retail workers should not have to open on December 26 to give them ‘a day of rest’. The petition had garnered 140,000 signatures, however the Government released a statement prior to the debate saying it would not propose a ban on shops opening on Boxing Day.
John Lewis saw its sales dip 2.1% to £151.8 million in the seven days to December 10. Electricals and home technology sales dropped 8.3% as discounts slowed, although fashion sales grew 1.2% overall, helped by strong womenswear sales particularly of party wear. Beauty, wellbeing and leisure sales edged up 2%, while home sales were flat overall.
Argos drivers have suspended planned Christmas strike action having reached a new deal on holiday back-pay. The Wincanton-employed drivers at Argos’ flagship national distribution centre had planned to take action for 72 hours in the run up to Christmas.
Lidl has secured a new warehouse near London as part of its plans to further grow its footprint in Britain. The 187,000 square foot facility is at DP World London Gateway in Thurrock, Essex and will operate from February 2017.
Amazon has completed the first drone delivery for a UK customer. An Amazon Fire TV stick and a bag of popcorn were delivered to a shopper in Cambridge using Prime Air earlier this month.
Retail sales in November increased 5.9% year on year, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics. Black Friday saw a boost for non-food retailers, with them winning 43% of overall sales during the period. Online sales, meanwhile, grew 24.9% year on year. Retail prices did edge up slightly – 0.1% – in November, making it the first year on year price increase since June 2014.
Research from Deloitte has found that pre-Christmas discounting levels have grown for the sixth year in a row. The average discount on the high street is now 43%. The company said that discounting levels are expected to rise to 54% by Christmas Eve.
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