Welcome to the May edition of the Retail and Consumer newsletter!

This month our newsletter has a theme of energy and transport, and how improvements in these areas are offering new possibilities for retailers to stand out from their competition.

We discuss the opportunities that are becoming available for retailers in the development of the infrastructure necessary to support the influx in interest in electric vehicles. As more consumers switch over to electric vehicles, demand will grow for retailers who can support through charging facilities. We also include an article on drones where our writers look at how recent technology may provide retailers with the chance to use drone deliveries sooner than previously expected. Finally, our last article looks at a recent enforcement notice from the Committee of Advertising Practice which will place new rules on retailers regarding misleading delivery costs.

Articles

Electric vehicles – the opportunities for retailers

While sales of new cars in UK are decreasing the sale of Electric Vehicles (EV) has bucked that trend and now sits at 5% with significant growth forecast. Policy and industry developments are combining to transform the electricity and transport sectors and the EV charging point is now a new point of sale for retailers. 

For more information, please read our article here

Drones

The national air traffic control space announced new technology had been released to allow drones to share airspace with conventional aircrafts. This is one of a number of recent advancements that are putting the UK at the forefront of developing the infrastructure necessary for drone use. 

To find out more about the effect of these developments on retailers, please read our article

ASA crackdown on delivery charges

E-commerce offers consumers the opportunity to compare products from their home, however this is made difficult by misleading advertising practices. The Committee of Advertising Practice has published a new enforcement notice on advertised delivery restrictions and surcharges, which will apply to all adverts across the UK from the 31 May 2018. 

For more information, please read our article here

Minimum Pricing for Alcohol in Scotland

Minimum unit pricing for alcohol has now been brought in for Scotland. You can read our previous article on this here. 

There has now been new guidance provided by the Scottish Government which provides a reference for alcohol retailers, Licensing Boards and Licensing Standards Officers in Scotland, please find a link to this here.

Events

IT Risk Seminar

This breakfast seminar will provide:

• an update on case law relevant to Technology & Outsourcing contracts
• the top 5 terms which are negotiated and litigated in Technology & Outsourcing contracts, as revealed by our AG survey;
• how to reduce risk from a legal and technical perspective before, during and once the project is complete;
• how to deal with issues when if/when they arise; and
• what's on the horizon for 2018.

Registration and breakfast will commence at 8:30, with the session starting at 9:15 and running till 10:30, followed by coffee.

Leeds: 22 May 2018

3 Sovereign Square, Sovereign Street, Leeds, LS1 4ER - Map

RSVP - Vicky Ward

Download the full newsletter in PDF