#105: Bank Holiday boosts UK economy

Happy Friday and welcome to This Week in CX! We're bringing you our roundup of industry news summarised in an exclusive LinkedIn newsletter. For more detail on any news featured here, check out 'This week in CX' on the Customer Experience Magazine (CXM) website.

This week, we’ve been looking at the latest research in employee demands for the workplace, the best working models, digital advancements, and more.

August Bank Holiday weekend customer shopping forecast to contribute £600 million to UK economy

The August bank holiday is set to boost retail and hospitality sales by 15%, equating to an additional £600 million contribution to the economy. This is according to consumer spend insights from Experian and Reward.

The forecast is based on previous bank holiday spend uplifts compared to average weekends in the lead up to the bank holiday.

“As we head into the August bank holiday, our data and insights show the opportunity open to businesses across the country.” says Colin Grieves, managing director of marketing services at Experian UK&I.

Regardless of weather conditions, the 3-day bank holiday weekend sets a good mood across the country, and is an opportunity for businesses to drive profit and strategise on customer free time to spend.

The 40-hour workweek is now unsuitable for productivity levels

6% of working UK professionals have stated that the current 40-hour full-time workweek does not suit them.

The new research comes from the talent solutions firm Robert Walters. The current work model is being viewed as no longer representative of modern approaches to productivity and engagement.

“The conventional 40-hour workweek which has remained largely unchanged for over a century, is now facing an uncertain future. This highlights a growing discontentment that employers must urgently acknowledge and work to rectify.” commented Lucy Bisset, director of Robert Walters North.

Just over half (51%) of research respondent believe that switching to the four-day workweek model, or just even having more work flexibility (38%) could answer those productivity and engagement issues.

Amazon take part in trial for UK drone use

Amazon are among a group of organisations who have been selected for a trial testing drones for business use in the UK.

The trial will focus on gathering data on how the drones detect and avoid other aircraft.

“Our goal is to make drone operations beyond visual line of sight a safe and everyday reality, contributing to the modernisation of UK airspace and the incorporation of new technology into our skies,” said Sophie O’Sullivan, director of future of flight at the UK CCA.

The e-commerce giant Amazon is taking part in trial to test its own service, Prime Air, in the UK. This project was planned out by founder Jeff Bezos more than a decade ago. The company currently does not have permission to operate their drones in the UK.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CCA) announced that it will integrate drones that fly beyond the visual line of sight of their operators into UK airspace. This means that operators will not have to maintain sight of the drones.

• More than half of the journeys taken from London’s City Airport last year could have been done by train in six hours or less, according to research. More than 43% of the destinations served by the airport could be reached by train in less than five hours, while 54% of them could be done in less than six hours and more than 66% in less than eight.
• As Taylor Swift wrapped up the European leg of the world-spanning, two-year Eras tour at London’s Wembley stadium, the impact of Swift’s presence in the UK became clear. Her show on Tuesday night was her eighth, breaking Wembley’s record for the most nights at the venue on a single tour. A report from PwC said that the Eras tour was a significant contributor to the UK being on track to dethrone Germany as the top European entertainment and media market in 2025.
• IKEA is going to start deploying drones powered by artificial intelligence around the clock in distribution centres across Europe and North America to further automate stock inventory and improve staff wellbeing, the company has announced. The move follows a successful one-year pilot at a warehouse in Belgium in which the drones worked alongside staff to provide them with real-time data.

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