Breakfast Briefing: Retail news on shop prices, Apple, Asos, Office and more

Shop prices fall at fastest pace since 2006, says BRC

The British Retail Consortium said that due to a sharp decline in the cost of food, the prices in British shops fell at the fastest rate in March since records began more than eight years ago. In March 2015, retail prices were 2.1% lower than 2014, marking the largest decline in shop prices since December 2006.

Apple doesn’t want fans queuing outside stores for watch

Apple doesn’t want people to queue up outside stores when its smartwatch goes on sale later this month, reported The Telegraph. An internal memo issued has urged the Apple store staff to suggest the customers to order the Apple Watch online.

“The days of waiting in line and crossing fingers for a product are over for our customers. The Apple Store app and our online store make it much easier to purchase Apple Watch and the new MacBook. This is a significant change in mindset.” wrote retail head Angela Ahrendts, according to Business Insider.

Asos to promote Irish fashion capitals

In a tie-in deal with Tourism Ireland, Asos will highlight Dublin and Belfast as style capitals to almost eight million fashion-loving customers of the site across Britain, stated the Irish Independent. The three-month campaign will encourage Asos customers consider a city break in Belfast or Dublin.

The campaign includes a “48 hours in Ireland” link prominently displayed on the Asos site, full-page articles about Dublin and Belfast to appear in June and July magazine editions, banner ads, email marketing and social media activity.

Office shoes signs content deal with Grazia

In a bid to position itself as a destination footwear brand, Office has struck a year-long partnership with women’s magazine Grazia, informed Bauer Media’s millennial research. This marks the biggest fashion partnership Grazia has inked to date.

Dubbed the ‘shoespaper’ and filled with editorial content which reflects current shoe trends, Grazia will produce a quarterly eight-page supplement in the form of a newspaper.

The Body Shop hires agency to grow customer base

Beauty retailer The Body Shop has tapped search agency iCrossing to overhaul its search marketing, The Drum reported. The move comes in order to spur smaller but more targeted campaigns, which it believes will boost its customer base over the next five years. The agency will initially restructure its paid search before working out how to integrate its SEO.