Summer: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” (Dr. Seuss). At this point, Q3 is in your rear view and you have been gearing up for Q4 and the Holiday season beginning as early as mid-May… We know this is an assiduous time for retailers, so here is a brief update of what happened in the industry throughout the month of August to keep you in the know:

eCommerce in UK: highest growth since November 2014

Online retail sales in the United Kingdom increased by 18.7 percent in July, compared to the same period in 2015. The increase was driven by the apparel sector, where all sub-sectors outperformed the growth of the total market. Due to July’s very high temperatures, British consumers seemed to have increased their online activity to add to their summer wardrobe.

That all said, the average order value decreased by 2.6 percent compared to the month before, which could partially be a result of retailers competing with Amazon’s Prime Day.

What this month’s Jet.com sale means for the future of retail

According to a recent piece on TechCrunch, one in ten retail sales in the United States – a projected $373 Billion in 2016 – happens online. Forrester predicts total U.S. online retail will grow to $500 Billion by 2020, which will only continue to drastically increase globally as more businesses take core operations to the web.

While retailers have grasped the web-focused future of the industry, the sale of Jet.com to Walmart earlier this month has sped up the shift and validated the online marketplace approach to eCommerce resulting in three essential truths:

• Moving Storefronts Online and Logistics Next Door is a Winning Model
• The Point of Sale is Now Anywere with an Internet Connection
• Retailers Must invest in Both Tech and Convenience

Walmart assessed Jet.com’s prowess and purchased a leading eCommerce platform that will help define how the company (and the industry) will do business moving forward: “Online, on-demand and on a consumer’s device screen.”

Worldwide Retail eCommerce Sales Will Reach $1.915 Trillion This Year

eMarketer estimates that in 2016, total retail sales across the globe will reach $22.049 Trillion, up 6 percent from 2015 -- topping $27 Trillion in 2020. The market research company predicts that eCommerce sales (including products and services ordered online across all devices) will reach $1.915 Trillion in 2016, accounting for 8.7 percent of total retail spending around the globe. What’s to add, they expect eCommerce to reach a 23.7 percent growth rate for 2016 and increase to $4.058 Trillion by 2020.

Sales in the Chinese eCommerce arena are expected to reach $899.09 Billion this year, which is 47 percent of all global sales. North America’s eCommerce sales will rise 15.6 percent this year to reach $423.34 Billion, allowing the area to remain the world’s second largest regional eCommerce market.

Why tourists aren’t loading up on luxury goods this summer

CNBC explains that tourists spent 14 percent less in July 2016 than July 2015. Such a number is especially disappointing given that tourism spending makes up about 33 percent of global luxury revenues, and more than 50 percent of European luxury sales. The key reasons as to why tourists are spending less include:

• Terror attacks in European cities – “Spending in France was down 24 percent in July compared to July 2015.”
• European merchandises are more expensive, as the Euro continues to strengthen.
• The Chinese luxury goods consumer is spending a lot less. The Chinese currency, the Yuan, has depreciated by around 8 percent against the Euro this year, and new import restrictions imposed by the Chinese government earlier this year also contributed to less spending.
• The U.K. is one destination where tourists are spending more in Europe. The spending rose by 6 percent in July.

U.S. eCommerce posts its largest gain in nearly two years

eCommerce sales grew 15.8 percent in Q2 2016, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Additionally, online retail sales reached $91.24 Billion, a 15.8 percent increase compared with the same time last year - this is the largest YoY growth rate since Q3 2014.

In the same period, total retail sales (excluding food service) reached $1.22 Trillion. That means eCommerce accounted for approximately 7.5 percent of total retail sales down from 7.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016, but up from 6.6 percent in the second quarter of 2015.

Where We Spend Is Upending Traditional Retail

Americans are still spending, however there has been a significant shift from apparel and electronics and towards entertainment, travel and health care. The article describes that after paying for non-discretionary items such as health care, housing, student debt and transportation, consumers are spending on travel and leisure activities. According to The Wall Street Journal, retail now represents only “a slice of household outlays, with consumption of services making up about two-thirds of all personal expenditures.”

Retail’s competition for consumer dollars is forcing some retailers to shrink, especially given their investors’ concern on overcapacity. An prime example would be Macy’s, which closed 41 stores earlier this year, and has announced to be closing close another 100 locations by early 2017 – reducing its footprint from last year’s prime shopping season by 18 percent.

As consumers focus more of their budget on entertainment, a smart way to compete with that segment is to offer a unique customer experience. Make sure to check out Sarah Engel’s (our VP of Global Marketing) Experiential Retail: The Act And Art Of Millennial Shopping byline on Retail Touch Points for

This concludes another of our monthly round-ups. Check back next month for a newly curated collection of headlines that will get you up-to-date with the retail industry’s latest buzz… Additionally, we invite you to stay tuned to our blog page and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for all of our musings.