Debenhams has shown that widening the way consumers can buy its products through a multichannel strategy has paid off. The retailer this week reported an 82.4% jump in first-half sales at Debenhams Direct.

UK consumers carried on spending online in March, today’s IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index found. But while sales were up by 14% on last year, there was evidence that shoppers were becoming more discerning about where they spend their cash.

Ideal Shopping Direct, which has seen a 69.8% rise in internet sales, has reported a sharp rise in profits. The company said it had made significant progress towards becoming a multichannel retailer.

The first App to provide a comprehensive guide to divorcing in England and Wales has been launched for those going through or considering separation – and aimed at saving hundreds of pounds in legal fees (and many hours of shouting and door slamming)

Online consumer search and purchasing trends are changing. Liane Dietrich, managing director of LinkShare UK, explains, and considers how retailers can capture the attention of social shoppers.

Online fashion retailer Asos says most of its sales are now being made overseas. The company notched up growth in international sales of £144% in the year to the end of March 2011.

Gardens to flowers catalogue and online retailer Flying Brands has warned profits for the year will be ‘materially below market expectations’ as consumer confidence weakens. Like-for-like sales for first quarter of the year were down by 19.8%.

The opinions of online consumers matter when shoppers make up their minds about what to buy. That’s the case even when the purchase is to be made on the high street.

Growth in online sales slowed significantly as UK retail sales took their worst hit for 16 years in March. The BRC says its retail sales index showed consumers stopped spending in the light of rising bills and falling house prices.

Clothes shopping online could get easier with the launch of new Garmentology software which aims to recommend to shoppers styles that would suit them.

Online grocer Ocado has added to its board with the appointment of eBay Europe senior vice president Douglas McCallum. McCallum, who previously ran the online marketplace’s UK business, will join as non-executive director in October.

A third of British consumers would rather shop online, research from the Pay Your Way campaign has found. If they bought their online purchases in person, it found, they would have to clock up an average of 6,111 extra miles a year.

Adult retailer Lovehoney has relaunched lingerie website BeCheeky after buying it out of administration. It says the move will give it access to a more mainstream audience.

Confidence may be low on the high street, but online things are different, according to figures from John Lewis and from IMRG both published today.

Even the leading retailers are ‘largely unresponsive’ when it comes to social media, a study from technology company Auros has found. Just being on social media is not enough, says its managing director: brands need to be more confident about responding.

How can retailers deal with customers who try to use their social media clout to extract better deals? Anand Subramaniam, VP of Marketing, eGain Communications Corporation, outlines some useful approaches.

IC Companys-owned brand By Malene Birger has a new ecommerce store. Developed by GSI Commerce, the site aims to bring the ease of in-store shopping to the web.

More of Halfords sales are being made online, the company has said. But while ecommerce sales grew fast in the fourth quarter of its financial year, overall retail sales were down by 6.7%.

High street retailer M&S is looking to its multichannel and overseas operations for long-term growth. In a trading statement the company said that ecommerce sales had risen by 13.7% in the fourth quarter of its financial year, compared to just 2.3% group-wide.

Supermarket Tesco has moved into the used car market with the launch of Tesco Cars. The service promises to deliver convenience, customer service and value to sales of cars sourced from owners such as fleet and leasing companies.