Beyond the Basket - 24/09/25

Wednesday 24th September | #36 | Join Free

Hello and welcome to your Wednesday Beyond the Basket brief. Amazon's pulling back from UK cashier-free stores while ChatGPT quietly becomes Walmart's second-biggest traffic source. UK retailers are hemorrhaging loyalty to refund culture, and even e-scooter ads are getting the regulatory boot. From AI reshaping discovery to returns draining margins, retail's fundamentals are shifting faster than most realize. Let's jump in. 👇

In today’s beyond the basket:
🛒 Amazon Walks Away from UK Fresh Stores
🔄 UK Retailers Lose Loyalty to Refund Culture
🦾 ChatGPT Emerges as Retail’s New Traffic Engine
🛠️ Home Depot Doubles Down on B2B Pros
⛔️ Currys E-Scooter Ad Banned by Watchdog

+plus three deep reads on the trends shaping ecommerce and retail right now.

TL;DR: Amazon is closing all 19 UK Fresh stores, converting 5 into Whole Foods and shifting focus to online grocery delivery.

Why It Matters: The retreat underscores how even Amazon can’t force consumer adoption of cashier-free retail. Costs, tech glitches, and post-pandemic habits eroded momentum, leaving Tesco and Sainsbury’s dominant. Instead, Amazon is doubling down on online grocery delivery and Whole Foods expansion, aiming to grow Same-Day Delivery with fresh and frozen goods. For UK retail, this could signal less disruption on the high street but more pressure on last-mile logistics and supplier relationships.

Your Move: If you sell FMCG or fresh goods in the UK, get ready for Amazon’s online grocery push, optimize listings, strengthen logistics, and sharpen your brand voice to stand out against Amazon’s growing dominance.

TL;DR: Loop’s 2025 returns benchmark shows 78% of UK returns end in refunds, with the lowest exchange adoption globally at just 5.8%.

Why It Matters: Refund-heavy policies are draining UK merchants, with return rates nearly double the US (17.5% vs. 11%) and revenue retention lagging far behind Australia (21.9% vs. 45%). Every refund sends customers, and loyalty, out the door, while smarter markets are using exchanges and fees to recover value. With economic pressure mounting, post-purchase excellence has become a competitive differentiator, not an afterthought.

Your Move: Don’t just absorb losses, redesign your returns policy to drive retention. Add instant exchanges for size or colour, offer bonus credit for store-credit swaps, shorten refund windows, and highlight exchanges during checkout and in post-purchase emails. Use returns data to flag repeat fit or quality issues before they drain margin.

TL;DR: New data reveals that ChatGPT now drives 20% of Walmart’s referral traffic, with Etsy, Target, and eBay also seeing double-digit gains, while Amazon blocks AI bots.

Why It Matters: AI search is reshaping the shopping funnel. Instead of Google, customers are discovering products through AI chat links. Amazon’s defensive move to wall off ChatGPT protects its $56B ad business but hands exposure to rivals like Walmart. For now, retailers are getting free referral clicks, but that window is likely to close once platforms layer in affiliate fees, ads, or checkout.

Your Move: Start tracking AI-driven referrals in analytics, if ChatGPT is already in your top sources, you need a strategy for optimizing content and product visibility in AI answers.

TL;DR: Home Depot launched a digital Project Planning tool that lets contractors manage materials lists, track deliveries, get early pricing, and collaborate with teams in real time.

Why It Matters: Pros now account for half of Home Depot’s sales and are seen as the retailer’s growth engine. This new tool embeds Home Depot deeper into the workflow of contractors, shifting it from a supplier to a project partner. It also signals how B2B retail is evolving: platforms aren’t just selling inventory, they’re building sticky ecosystems that lock in higher-value, repeat customers.

Your Move: If you serve B2B buyers, look beyond transactions, invest in workflow tools, order visibility, and team collaboration features that make your brand indispensable in the day-to-day operations of your highest-value customers.

Wider Context:
Like-For-Like Growth For B&Q And Screwfix - Kingfisher’s H1 2025 results show B&Q sales up +4.6% LFL and Screwfix up +3.0%, with growth powered by app adoption, e-commerce (+23.8% at B&Q), and marketplace expansion (+45% GMV). Read More >

TL;DR: The UK’s ASA banned a Currys e-scooter ad, ruling it was misleading and condoned unlawful use on public roads.

Why It Matters: E-scooters remain a legal grey zone in the UK, private use is largely banned outside rental schemes. Retailers pushing the category must tread carefully: overstating usage risks regulatory crackdowns and reputational damage. This ruling shows regulators are actively policing marketing that blurs the line between novelty promotion and legal guidance.

Your Move: If you sell products in regulated categories (e-scooters, vapes, CBD, financial services), stress-test your ad copy against compliance standards, make sure creative teams know the legal limits before campaigns go live.

Curated deep dives, longer reads and analysis shaping the future of retail and ecommerce.

Luxury Brands Bet on Viral Collectibles
CNBC (5 Min Read) Read Here ›
Luxury houses from Moynat to Tiffany are leaning into pop culture drops like Labubu, blurring the line between heritage craft and hype marketing.

The Rise of AI Agents, The Fall of Wallets
PYMNTS (6 Min Read) Read Here ›
As AI agents start handling purchases, digital wallets risk being bypassed, shifting control of checkout from payment firms to intelligent shopping bots.

Marketers See AI as a Gateway to Quantum
Ecommerce News UK (4 Min Read) Read Here ›
Agentic AI adoption is reshaping workflows, and marketers predict quantum computing could arrive sooner than expected, amplifying disruption even further.