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It looks likely that Lidl will launch an online shop in the UK later this year, Germany’s leading newspaper on consumer goods has reported. The news source has stated that there is increasing evidence the chain will launch an online store in the UK for selling wine, spirits and non-food items. The newspaper announced “In the United Kingdom, there is growing evidence that Lidl will soon be offering an online delivery service to its rapidly growing customer base.”

J&P Comments

In June 2019, J&P reported that Lidl had extended its online shopping service to Ireland and also that it was planning on launching this service in the UK. As Lidl is a highly popular supermarket chain in the UK, it makes sense for the retailer to drive their sales by opening up an online store.

The British high street retailer Matalan confirmed that it tested social proof messaging on its site back in 2017, in a bid to increase customer confidence and reduce its abandoned cart rate and returns. After AB testing and customer interviews were complete, the retailer identified that customers like inspiration and appreciate help understanding which products are trending and what products can be matched together. Since then Matalan trialed social messaging on its site which led to an increased conversion rate of 5.5%.

J&P comments

Matalan also confirmed that it trialed other types of messaging on its site which resulted in further increased conversion rates thanks to AI technology. Since online retailers don’t have the same advantages that traditional retailers have its important that they put something in place that will help assist the shopper in making their online purchase.

Chinese E-commerce giant Alibaba has undercut Amazon’s selling fees in a bid to attract new vendors as it finally makes its move into Europe. Alibaba has successfully wooed a flood of small businesses to join its European platform. Still, they are struggling to capture larger brands including Mango, Benetton, Spanish fashion group Tendam and more. Some fashion brands didn’t feel that the site was appropriate to showcase their products on since their prices are relatively dearer than their existing products. Furthermore, another brand described the Aliexpress program as ‘working progress’.

J&P comments

Alibaba’s attempt to attract new vendors on its European platform has proven to be successful amongst small businesses. But, despite large brands declining Alibaba’s offer due to uncertainty of its platform, they may very well choose to reconsider this proposal in the future if the e-commerce platform performs well in Europe.

According to reports, two million UK shoppers have had their credit scores damaged via ‘buy now pay later’ schemes which have led to increased levels of consumer debt. According to Comparethemarket.com, one in five shoppers have used BNPL schemes to purchase goods over the past year in the UK, equating to roughly ten million people. Furthermore, 41 per cent of consumers said that they weren’t aren’t aware that BNP schemes could affect their credit score, and 39% of consumers aged 25 -34 year-old stated that it had damaged their credit score.

J&P comments

Many consumers aren’t aware of the repercussions of failing to make scheduled payments, which could prevent them from achieving essential life milestones like purchasing a house. Which is why consumers need to read through the terms and condition of the agreement carefully.

Facebook and eBay have pledged to do more to eliminate fake reviews on their platforms after receiving pressure from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In June 2018, the CMA ordered both online platforms to tackle the on-going issue involving fake reviews which led to an 8 month investigation which revealed ‘troubling evidence’ of their prevalence. The pair have made progress in identifying and removing suspicious accounts on their respective sites.  Facebook confirmed that they have removed 188 groups and suspended 24 user accounts which are responsible for doing fake reviews in exchange for monetary gain. And, the CAM has confirmed that eBay has banned 140 users from its site since the summer.

J&P comments

Fake positive reviews are often written by business owners, employees or by paid reviewers in a bid to boost sales. This practice is unethical since it’s dishonest, misleading, and it defeats the purpose of having a customer review put in place. However, those that do commit it could argue that if companies actually provide an excellent service, then no actual harm is being made.