Brand new website to prevent counterfeit sales
A new website has been launched by Brand Information Limited in partnership with the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) to help protect online consumers from purchasing counterfeit goods. The website is...
View ArticleThe high street continues to suffer, but UK retailers surf the online wave
The decline of the UK high street has been a widely talked about subject: the recession, lack of investment, high business rates, lack of parking, a decline in retail profits, shops closing and...
View ArticleStudy shows lack of security focus from half of transactional website operators
Research by Redshift Research, an industry analyst, has found that nearly half of transactional website operators do not know where they store their data and website files. The study shows that 45% of...
View ArticleOFT tells retailers to change websites for Christmas
In the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) annual sweep of popular retail websites for compliance with consumer laws, it has found that, out of 156 websites reviewed, 62 may be in breach. The OFT’s report...
View ArticleOnline retailers: are your websites compliant with the law?
An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found that more than a third of the UK’s biggest online retailers could be breaking consumer laws. The OFT scrutinised 156 popular retail...
View ArticleNew survey suggests that retailers need to be more ‘social’
Newly-published research by MPG Media Contacts and Lightspeed Research has found that a growing number of consumers are using social media sites, such as Facebook, to get inspiration when shopping...
View ArticleMore than half of online retailers are failing to check abandoned baskets
A new study by Aspect Software has found that UK online retailers are not acting upon abandoned baskets… and this could be costing retailers millions of pounds in lost revenue. The survey, which was...
View ArticleRetailers post 40 per cent rise in e-commerce sales in 2011 – with...
According to new statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail businesses generated approximately £21.4bn from e-commerce sales in 2011 – up from £15.2bn in 2010. The ONS...
View ArticleRetail bankruptcies grow – but high streets can still prosper
A report published by accountants Deloitte has revealed that the number of retailers filing for bankruptcy has continued to grow over the past three years. There were 194 retail bankruptcies in 2012 –...
View ArticleGovernment publishes guidance on the Payment Surcharges Regulations
The Department for Business Innovation & Skills has published guidance on the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, which came into force on 6 April 2013. Payment surcharges are an...
View ArticleThe creation of a digital single market for e-commerce: where are we now?
The European Commission has published a report on the progress made in implementing its e-commerce action plan. In January 2012, the European Commission published a Communication on the issue of...
View ArticleOFT calls for online retailers to be more transparent in their use of...
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has issued a report warning that businesses must be more “transparent” with consumers about the way they collect and use data about them in order to offer personalised...
View ArticleImportant changes to collective redundancy consultations: 20 or more...
The landmark Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment in USDAW v Ethel Austin Ltd (successors to Woolworth PLC) and another case, has been published this week (despite being handed down a few weeks ago) and...
View ArticleOFT publishes report on the impact of reverse-fixed payments on competition
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has published an externally-commissioned research report that examines the impact of reverse-fixed payments on competition. Reverse-fixed payments are lump-sum payments...
View ArticleGroceries Code Adjudicator formally established
The key provisions of the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013 came into force on 25 June 2013, formally establishing the role, and commencing the powers, of the Groceries Code Adjudicator. Christine...
View ArticleRetailers: are you prepared for this year’s consumer law reforms?
The Consumer Rights Directive was adopted by the UK on 13 December 2013 and must be fully implemented in legislation by 13 June 2014. The Directive applies to all businesses that sell goods to...
View ArticleCJEU rules that supply of goods paid via fraudulent use of credit card is...
In a ruling that will have consequences for the retail sector, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has held that the supply of goods in return for a payment made by the fraudulent use of...
View ArticleNew app will enable more shoppers to pay by smartphone
A new smartphone app, which is due to launch in October or November 2014, will allow shoppers to make payments direct from a linked bank account. Five UK banks – HSBC, First Direct, Nationwide,...
View ArticleWoolworths case on collective redundancy referred to the CJEU
On 22 January 2014, the Court of Appeal heard the Government’s appeal against the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT) judgment in USDAW v Ethel Austin Ltd (in administration) and another (the...
View ArticleEmployers take note: possible change to the law governing collective...
In January 2014, the Court of Appeal referred the case of USDAW and another v Ethel Austin Ltd and others [2014] EWCA Civ 142 to the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU). The Employment...
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