IW Long Reads: Lost in the 'Amazoned' jungle - are bricks and mortar retailers ready for e-commerce challenge in Lockdown 3.0?

New year, same challenges face shops during pandemic

clock • 7 min read

With non-essential shops remaining closed as England endures its third national lockdown, it would be easy to continue to be bearish on the prospects for the retail sector in 2021. Indeed, throughout 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic simply intensified the already pressured bricks and mortar space both in the UK and globally, with many stores having to close their doors. IW Long Reads: How much economic damage can a Covid-19 vaccine repair? So, should investors simply avoid retail, or are there elements to exploit in the sector's transformation to the digital age? According to data from IMRG...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on UK

Nervous UK retail investors seek consistency from Labour's tax policies
UK

Nervous UK retail investors seek consistency from Labour's tax policies

Half worried about political uncertainty

Patrick Brusnahan
clock 14 January 2026 • 2 min read
Investors warm to UK equities as fund inflows reach six-month high
UK

Investors warm to UK equities as fund inflows reach six-month high

UK gilts also liked

Linus Uhlig
clock 08 January 2026 • 2 min read
US activist investors target UK companies at record levels in 2025
UK

US activist investors target UK companies at record levels in 2025

Pressure to increase in 2026

Michael Nelson
clock 06 January 2026 • 2 min read
Trustpilot