During the pandemic-induced lockdowns in 2020, many UK-based shoppers confined to their homes saw little need to shop for apparel, and even now, as restrictions ease, apparel will still not be a consumer focus.

As UK consumers settle on new ways of shopping and buying post-pandemic, retailers must keep pace and cater to these new habits.

The share of food and beverage ecommerce sales in the UK will rebound to pre-pandemic levels in the coming years.

Digital ad spending across several industries in the UK has been up-and-down the past two years. There will be across-the-board growth this year, but at uneven rates, ranging from 33.0% for travel to 7.8% for automotive.

Last year, there was a huge shakeout in the UK’s retail landscape. Long-established names disappeared, hobbled by pandemic pressures, while a swath of digital-first players gained new customers.

JPMorgan kept its eye on technology and the crypto trend—no matter what Jamie thought personally: The banking giant’s 2021 featured a UK digital-only launch, fintech acquisitions, crypto offerings for retail clients, and advocating for staff in branches to become licensed advisors.

This will be a tough year for holiday season retail in the UK. Shoppers will spend less in 2020, and much of their spend will fall outside the traditional November–December time frame, leading to the lowest holiday retail sales total since 2015.

The UK neobank giant is rolling out stock trading in the US in hopes of capturing the retail trading boom, but existing digital brokers have already scooped up the lion’s share.

When it comes to Christmas shopping, the biggest priority among UK consumers is avoiding crowds, cited by 32% of those 18 and older.

Next year in the UK, digital video ads will make gains, Brexit will continue to complicate ecommerce and data privacy rules, and retailers will reimagine the in-store experience.

Proximity and peer-to-peer mobile payments are on the rise in the UK, thanks to high user adoption of mobile and banking. However, growth is slow, which means that wallet providers looking to crack the market will need to get creative.

Ecommerce helped retail out of a sticky spot during the pandemic, and those habits formed during lockdowns will endure, as digital demands more attention than ever—37.5% of all retail sales this year will be ecommerce sales.

Responsible’s BuyBack plugin, on the other hand, is embedded within an ecommerce site as an API or at a store through scanning. As an embedded finance offering, the goal for both fintech and site is to make consumer transactions more seamless and to create a deeper brand affinity.

Retail brands that fail to satisfy consumers’ elevated expectations will quickly lose relevance—as the fast-fashion sector is learning. It isn’t just retail: While retail may be affected the most by changing consumer preferences, sustainability will impact other sectors.