From retail sales and footfall faltering ahead of Back To School trading, to Asda completing its ESL rollout across its convenience estate and Gen Z making more ‘viral pilgrimages’ to High Street stores, what’s been making waves in retail this week?

Footfall & retail sales falter ahead of Back To School

Data from both BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker and BRC-Sensormatic’s Footfall Monitor showed a sluggish end to summer as sales and shopper traffic dipped in August ahead of Back To School trading.

BDO’s figures revealed total sales across discretionary retail categories grew just +2.2% last month compared to +3.9% in August of last year. It said growth remained below the rate of inflation, meaning sales volumes had dropped for the sixth time this year.

“Whilst August is traditionally a strong month, these figures point to deeper issues where consumers remain reluctant to spend,” Sophie Michael, Head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO, commented.

The BRC-Sensormatic index showed that store traffic to UK High Streets remained “sluggish”, experiencing a -3.1% year-on-year dip in August.

Andy Sumpter, EMEA Head of Consulting & Analytics for Sensormatic, noted that while the numbers were “still firmly in negative territory”, this marked “a welcome improvement on July and June, suggesting the pace of decline may be beginning to ease.”

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IKEA commits €1.2bn to keep homeware prices low

Amid ongoing pressure from higher living costs, IKEA has committed to making home furnishings more affordable, with Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, IKEA franchisees and Inter IKEA Group investing €1.2billion to lower prices across Europe.

The investment underscores the retailer’s focus on offering shoppers value for money through good design, quality and sustainable choices, and supports its vision of creating “a better everyday life”, it said.

“The investment is not a short-term campaign – it’s about making IKEA more affordable when people need it most, even if it means accepting a lower margin,” said Juvencio Maeztu, CEO of Ingka Group.

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Social discovery prompts ‘viral pilgrimages’ to High Streets

Four in five (80%) Gen Z consumers have visited an independent business or retailer after discovering it on social media, according to new research from American Express (Amex).

Among those who have made special social-inspired trips, the longest journeys average 95 minutes, highlighting the lengths younger shoppers will go to visit trending businesses and brands.

“Our research points to a fast-growing ‘scroll to store’ trend led by Gen Z, where social discovery is translating into visits and spending,” said Dan Edelman, GM for UK Merchant Services at American Express.

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JD Sports steps up AI search

JD Sports has appointed Verde Digital to help strengthen the brand’s Google and AI search visibility across its operations in Canada as it ramps up growth efforts.

Focusing on SEO and AI Search Optimisation, including GEO and AEO, the move will boost digital discoverability as the retailer continues to scale its presence within the market.

JD Sports expanded into Canada in 2021 with its first store in Toronto and now has more than 30 locations across the country. It will now focus on growing its digital footprint further.

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Consumer trust for AI spend capped at £150 purchases

Despite fast-growing adoption of AI, caution kicks in for higher-value purchases, with UK shoppers putting a £150 price cap on agentic spending, new data from the MACH Alliance reveals.

Research of over 1,000 UK consumers, commissioned ahead of MACH X: Amsterdam, showed that two thirds (67%) now use AI within the search and discovery phases of their buying journeys – rising to 92% of Millennials and 89% of Gen Z.

A third (32%) of shoppers say they are happy for AI to take control of researching a purchase, but they still want to retain authority over the final product selection and spending decision.

“Tackling the AI trust gap will depend on brands’ ability to move agentic AI from influence to reliable execution across the entire buying journey,” Jason Cottrell, President of the MACH Alliance, commented.

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Second Hand September: 1 in 5 Brits bin unwanted clothes

One in five UK consumers still throw away unwanted clothing, according to the latest research by Oxfam, which launched its 2026 Second Hand September campaign this week.

Oxfam, which has been selling pre-loved fashion in its charity shops since 1947, is marking the start of the campaign by publishing its first-ever State of Style report. The study reveals that Britain’s unworn clothes waste enough water to supply one million people for life.

This year, the Oxfam campaign is being fronted by Richard E Grant, and calls on shoppers to choose second hand over fast fashion to help address the environmental impact of clothing.

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Asda wraps up ESL rollout across its convenience estate

Asda has completed the rollout of electronic shelf edge labels (ESLs) across all 517 UK Asda Express convenience stores, as the retailer continues to invest in technology across its estate.

Working with Vusion and its partners, Renovotec and HL Display, the supermarket has invested over £7.5million to install over 1.2million ESLs, which has replaced the task of manually swapping out over 120,000 paper price tickets per week.

“By removing manual pricing tasks, we’re freeing up time for colleagues to focus on serving customers and keeping store standards high,” said Matt Harrison, Director of Asda Express Central Operations.

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