May 18 – Indian Retailers See Spike as Pandemic Easing Begins
Retailers in India, including Metro Cash & Carry, Lots Wholesale Solutions, Future Group and V-Mart Retail have seen a spike in purchases of fast moving consumer goods and high-value items as measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been eased and more stores are open to customer walk-ins. Retailers have noted a significant increase in the average purchase value during phase three of the lockdown. From Retail.com
May 18 – Several Lidl Stores in the UK Add Parcel Lockers
In a deal with InPost UK, 24 Lidel outlets in the UK have added parcel lockers, allowing for customers to collect online orders and also send parcels. InPost UK has partnered with carriers several courier services and retailers including Boohoo, JD Group and Holland and Barrett. From Retail Technology Innovation Hub
May 15 – Amazon India Increases Efforts to Protect Staff
Amazon India has reported adding many changes to its delivery and in-office procedures to assist in keeping employees and customers safe. These procedures have been added to the protocol of delivery staff, warehouse workers as well as office workers. These changes have been added as India begins to ease some of the COVID-19 restrictions. Retail.com
May 15 – SPAR Italy Continues Investing in Supply Chain
SPAR Italy plans to modernize 80 of its existing stores and launch 3 additional distribution centers. Distribution Centers will be located in Padua, Bologna and Catania. From SPAR International
May 15 – MercadoLibre Adds Grocery to Assortment in Argentina
To answer demand caused by COVID-19, MercadoLibre has added a grocery segment to its platform in Argentina. The new segment, Supermercado Libre, was successfully tested in 2019 in Mexico and has been rolled out earlier than anticipated in Argentina. Article written in Spanish. From América Retail
May 15 – JD.com Announces Positive Q1 Results
JD.com announced an increase of 20.7% in net revenues from the first quarter of 2019. Net revenues from the sales of general merchandise products for the first quarter of 2020 saw an increase of 38.2% from the first quarter of 2019. From JD.com
May 15 – Amazon France to Reopen Warehouses
Following the closure of its 6 warehouses in France on April 16 after a court ruling that restricted deliveries due to COVID-19, Amazon plans to gradually reopen its French warehouses beginning May 19. Amazon is working to finalize agreements with unions to end a dispute over COVID-19 protection that closed the warehouses for more than a month. From Reuters
May 14 – Cencosud Announces Positive Q1 Results
Cencosud reported increased revenues by 8.1% year over year due to double-digit increases in supermarket revenues in Q1. In addition, increases in online and the positive effect of exchange rates in Peru and Colombia were credited with the gains. Ecommerce revenue at the consolidated level during the first quarter increased 52.2%. Chile reported the highest growth at 84.4%, followed by Argentina at 56% and Colombia at 53.1%. From Cencosud
May 14 – Colruyt Group Expands Collect & Go in Brussels
On May 25, Colruyt Group will open a temporary shop in Brussels to answer the increase in number of online orders due to the pandemic. The temporary shop will offer collect and go services, allowing for hundreds of extra orders to be collected daily. Article written in Dutch. From Gondola
May 14 – Australia’s Coles Group Introduces Bulk Product Line
Pivoting from its usual selection, Cole’s will launch a line of bulk products to answer the needs of increased home cooking during the time of the pandemic. Prices of ingredients in a mega-pack will be as much as 38% below the full price of the standard sizes. From Coles Group
May 12 – Demand for Electrics Surges in India
As reported by Paytm Mall, an Alibaba-backed online payment tool, consumer demand for electronics including home goods, surged around 1.5 times as India’s government started allowing online sales to recommence in certain zones in the country following the closures due to COVID-19. From Retail.com
May 12 – Carrefour Brasil Maintains Positive Sales Outlook
Despite COVID-19 concerns, Carrefour Brasil has reported that it is seeing a good pace in sales and maintains its expansion plans to open 20 brick-and-mortar stores per year under the wholesale banner, Atacadao. From Reuters
May 12 – Spain’s El Corte Inglés to Enter Kuwait
El Corte Inglés continues to expand its international presence through its food business in Kuwait, where the retailer has partnered with local retailer, Oncost, to establish its private label food offerings. The retailer plans to increase positioning of other products offered by the Spanish retailer through Kuwait’s Oncost. Article written in Spanish. From Proexca
May 11 – Grupo Éxito Sales Are Up in Q1
Colombia’s Grupo Éxito consolidated sales increased 12.9% in Q1 2020, with growth excluding the COVID-19 effect was 8.6%. Sales of nearly USD 939 million were reported, with growth of 10.4% compared to Q1 of 2019. Ecommerce channels and direct home delivery in Colombia represented 5.2% of Grupo Éxito’s total sales, compared to 4.5% at the end of 2019, growing by 44.6%. In Argentina, sales increased 48.7%. Article written in Spanish. From Grupo Exito
May 11 – Ikea to Open Small Format Store in Singapore
With plans to open in 2021, Ikea Singapore has a 6500 square meter small format stores slated for Jem Mall. This three floor outlet will be the first of its format in Southeast Asia. From Inside Retail
May 11 – Finnish Consumers Change Shopping Habits During Pandemic
In Finland, 20% of consumers are using online grocery shopping during the pandemic. Online purchases by families with children increased 13% in recent weeks and 30% of the online shoppers purchasing more than they had pre-pandemic. In addition, the country is seeing a growing trend in online shopping by consumers ages 65 and older. From European Supermarket Magazine
May 8 – Shanghai’s May 5 Shopping Festival Sees Positive Start
After China emerges from months of pandemic lockdown, the Shanghai May 5 Shopping Festival brought together online and offline retail to revitalize the economy and boost consumer confidence. Tmall, Alibaba’s B2C ecommerce platform, sales exceeded CNY 100 million within the first minute of the festival’s opening, spurring growth for local and global brands on the platform. Tmall Global reported sales of imported products seeing growth of 239% year-on-year on the opening day of the festival, with beauty devices, kitchen appliances and household cleaning supplies as the top categories to see growth. From Alizila
May 5 – MercadoLibre Net Revenue Up In First Quarter
MercadoLibre, Latin America’s leading online retailer reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Net revenues for the first quarter were USD 652.1 million, a year-over-year increase of 37.6% in USD and 70.5% on an FX neutral basis. Commerce revenues increased 32.7% year-over-year in USD and 62.0% on an FX neutral basis. From MercadoLibre
