Coming in a day early ahead of Easter, from rising retail sales in March, to Morrisons hitting £1million in fundraising for Marie Curie, and Foot Locker powering personalisation at scale, what’s been making waves in retail this week?

RTS 2025: Record breaking visitors and wall-to-wall innovation

Retail Technology Show (RTS), the flagship event connecting retail’s changemakers with technology innovators, welcomed 14,000+ retail professionals to its event – an +11% increase on the previous year.

Debuting at ExCeL, it hosted its biggest edition yet, presenting an expansive technology showcase featuring over 400 innovators.  The show attracted record numbers of senior retail professionals, underlining its growing influence as the industry’s must-attend event.

“Every detail was fine-tuned to deliver one of our best shows to date,” according to RTS Event Director, Matt Bradley.

Footfall: Late Easter hits shopper traffic in March

Total UK retail footfall decreased by -5.4% in March compared to 2024, down from -0.2% year-on-year in February, the latest data from the BRC-Sensormatic Monitor, revealled. With a late Easter, which lands three weeks later than in 2024, shopping centres saw the biggest footfall decline compared to last year, with visitors dipping -5.8%.

“With Easter landing in April, some of the downturn in store visits in March could have been from consumers withholding Easter spend,” Andy Sumpter, Sensormatic Solutions’ EMEA Retail Consultant, said. “Retailers will now be hoping that strong Easter trading can help balance out a slow start to Spring.”

Retail sales: Warm weather puts a spring in retail revenues

Total UK retail sales jumped by +1.1% year-on-year in March, according to the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC)-KPMG data, with sales bolstered by warmer spring weather and Mother’s Day.

However, while total retail sales in March saw an uplift compared to 2024, they were still tracking marginally below the 3 month average growth of +1.6%.

“The improving weather made for a particularly strong final week, with gardening and DIY equipment flying off the shelves. Retailers are making final preparations for Easter, with food expected to be the big winner next month,” the BRC’s Helen Dickinson said.

Online grocery: JD.com trails new ecommerce supermarket platform

Chinese retailer, JD.com, soft launched its new online UK supermarket, Joybuy, offering branded goods across categories including food & drink, household, health & beauty and pet care.

The site, which offers same- and next-day delivery, is currently only serving customers in select London postcodes. However, its app details that “more UK locations are coming soon” with an official launch earmarked for the end of 2025.

Good causes: Morrisons supports donations to Marie Curie on More Card

Morrisons is now supporting donations to its charity partner, Marie Curie, via its More Card loyalty programme.

From this week, Morrisons More Card holders can donate loyalty points to Marie Curie, helping to fund expert end of life care across the UK.  The new feature was launched after feedback from Morrisons’ customers and colleagues that they wanted to be able to put their points towards charitable causes.

Morrisons is currently five months into its three-year national charity partnership with Marie Curie, and has already surpassed £1 million in fundraising.

ESG: Food waste reduction becomes priority for 70% of shoppers

Price-sensitive and sustainably-minded shoppers are demanding retailers address food waste and improve markdowns, according to Retail Insight’s research.

70% believe that, rather than addressing ‘mainstream’ sustainability efforts, such as recycling, retailers should focus ESG efforts on food waste reduction.  A further 70% felt there wasn’t currently enough focus on food waste reduction in retailers’ sustainability goals, rising to 74% of Gen Z and Millennial consumers.  

Personalisation: Foot Locker steps up customer engagement with Ometria tie-up

Foot Locker will partner with Ometria, to power its new Customer Data Platform (CDP).

The partnership will help the footwear and apparel retailer accelerate data-powered customer marketing as well as delivering meaningful and personalised customer experiences across all its sales channels.

The partnership will to “unify customer data… to unlock deeper, more meaningful connections with our customers,” Stephanie Bleymaier, VP of Loyalty & CRM at Foot Locker, said.

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