IMRG - The UK Ecommerce Association

By Hemang Nathwani, CEO and Co-Founder at Price Trakker Most retailers use competitor monitoring to track pricing, but many successful businesses use market intelligence to identify opportunities before they become obvious. By the time a trend is visible in internal sales reports, competitors may already be acting on it. In today’s retail environment, opportunities often emerge long before they appear in sales reports or market research studies.

By Ellie-Rose Davies, Content Manager at IMRG In this blog we look at eCommerce in H2, sharing what’s happened throughout the year so far and what’s to come next, with predictions and growth strategies from industry experts. Inside this blog: IMRG’s H1 overview (thus far) Reacting to changing demand Preparing for AI Understanding your customers Reducing checkout friction Improving fulfilment and delivery IMRG’s H1 overview (thus far) The first half of 2026 has been a mixed for UK online retail.

By Inge Bujakiewicz-Baars, Head of Sustainability at ReBound Returns Imagine a truckload of clothing. Now imagine that truckload dumped into landfill or burned. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, this happens every second around the world. Retail’s waste challenge is growing. Fast fashion is the world’s second-largest consumer of water and contributes an estimated 2–8% of global carbon emissions.

By fulfilmentcrowd Since July 2021, the Import One-Stop Shop scheme (or IOSS), has been simplifying VAT collection for non-EU eCommerce businesses selling low-value goods into EU member states. IOSS, however, doesn’t remove customs obligations and doesn’t protect brands from how individual EU member states are beginning to process low-value inbound shipments. Five years since its introduction, this distinction is set to completely change how retailers ship products into the EU.

By Aynsley Peet, Head of Growth at The Pixel The way consumers discover and evaluate products continues to evolve, but one thing remains remarkably consistent: trust drives purchases. Recent consumer research from The Pixel’s latest product discovery survey reveals that while new technologies such as AI-powered shopping assistants are beginning to emerge, traditional discovery channels and authentic customer feedback still play the most influential role in buying decisions.

By ShoppingIQ OpenAI is reshaping the digital advertising landscape by expanding ChatGPT’s ad platform. From a limited enterprise rollout to self-serve campaign management, cost-per-click (CPC) bidding, and enhanced tracking, businesses of all sizes can now leverage conversational AI marketing. From exclusive access to self-serve campaigns Previously, only select large brands could advertise within ChatGPT.

The experience cannot stop at checkout For many ecommerce brands, significant effort goes into shaping the customer journey. Campaigns are carefully art directed, product pages are refined, and social content is designed to create aspiration, trust or excitement. However, the post-purchase experience can still feel disconnected from everything that came before it.

Data quality and smarter optimisation strategies For retailers looking to protect performance in the months ahead, data quality and optimisation are becoming increasingly important. Chloe Humphrys, Performance Manager at Shoptimised, echoes the points made around changing consumer behaviour and increased caution around spending. ‘Consumers are becoming more cost-conscious and buying smarter, leading to greater competition and a longer decision cycle.

By Luke McDermott, Head of Optimisation at Modo25 TLDR: A CRO audit for eCommerce is a structured investigation into why shoppers visit your store but don’t continue to purchase. It combines analytics data with behavioural insight to identify exactly where revenue is being lost, and what to do about it. The output is a clear, prioritised roadmap for turning more browsers into buyers. What is an eCommerce CRO audit?

By Melissa Email is a vital communications channel that helps to drive retail growth. It provides a standout role in delivering personalised communications that supports the selling of products and services, along with building profitable ongoing relationships with customers. Disposible emails are impacting on performance Today, in many cases, emails aren’t delivering for retailers the way they have been in the past.