Mothercare has announced its new chief executive will be Simon Calver, who joins the company from Amazon-owned LOVEFiLM. In the role, Calver will face the challenge of rebuilding the company’s sales and profits, particularly in its key UK market.

Online sales grew by a more modest 11.3% in January after a December of fast growth, according to the latest BRC figures. The figures also showed that total UK like-for-like sales sales were down by 0.3% as consumers tightened their belts.

TUI today reported rising online sales in its key UK market as it updated the markets on progress since the end of its third quarter. But overall UK sales were down by 10% in January compared to the same time last year.

UK retailers are making their delivery services more flexible, an annual report from MICROS UK found. But there’s still room for improvements that could help retailers gain a competitive advantage, says report sponsor MetaPack

Supermarkets’ websites are testing their users, according to the latest e-Performance Observatory from usability specialist YUSEO. Only 51% of those set a series of tasks to achieve on six supermarkets’ websites were successful, while users said they were less likely to use all of the supermarkets after completing the tasks.

In our latest preview of one of our major events of the year, Internet Retailing Expo (IRX 2012), we have an interview with serial entrepreneur John Sollars, who will be speaking at the Fast Track Conference on March 21, the first day of the free-to-attend two-day event. Now managing director of Stinkyinkshop.com, he shared with us some of the lessons he’s learned from his experiences.

Amazon.com, owner of the UK’s largest online trader, amazon.co.uk, reported growing sales but a 58% fall in profits as it upped spending on technology and infrastructure. The company said the Kindle e-reader was its biggest seller in both the US and Europe.

Multichannel veteran John Walden is the new appointment at Argos. Walden, who was previously responsible for areas including ecommerce and catalogue sales at US retailers including Sears and Best Buy, is faced with the task of turning around falling sales at the leading UK multichannel retailer.

Online grocer Ocado today unveiled a rise in sales and a narrowing in pre-tax losses as it expanded its service in terms of the area that it serves and of the number of products it sells. Chief executive Tim Steiner said the biggest threat to online growth was ‘under investment in capacity’.

Non-store trading, which includes ecommerce, was the only part of UK retail to grow in January, according to the latest CBI Distributive Trades Survey, which covers the first two weeks of the month. It found shoppers were holding back on spending, except online. However the growth seen there was not as strong as that seen in December.

Kiddicare has received a huge boost to its multichannel presence with the news that parent company Morrisons has taken over the lease of 10 former Best Buy stores for its use. The company says the move gives it a high street presence within reach of a third of the UK’s population.

Staples, the office supplies retailer, is opening a new centre in the US to drive innovation in its ecommerce services as it sets its sights on becoming the world’s leading multichannel retailer. Meanwhile the UK government and Technology Strategy Board today unveiled a new Connected Digital Economy Catapult centre that aims to become a hub transferring knowledge from the digital industries to their offline counterparts.

High street stores will become hi-tech ‘experience centres’ where shoppers will test out equipment, collect online orders and buy from mobile sales assistants, predicts Manhattan Associates in its forecast for 2012.

Flying Brands, owner of multichannel brands including Flying Flowers and Gardening Direct, said sales had fallen by 24.9% in the latest quarter of its financial year. The company said spending cutbacks meant its bottom line would be in line with expectations.

In our latest preview of one of our major events of the year, Internet Retailing Expo (IRX 2012), we take a look at our conference agenda. The Customer Experience Conference will be held on March 22, the second day of the free-to-attend two-day event and is for multichannel retailers considering how they can put the customer at the heart of their retail experience.

How much did UK shoppers spend online in 2011? We have the round-up of figures out this week from the IMRG/Capgemini and Kelkoo, as well as today’s Office for National Statistics news on December retail spending. And the busiest day of the year? Not Cyber Monday, not Boxing Day but Strike Day, according to BT Expedite and Fresca.

ASOS has reported a strong Christmas period at home and more especially abroad. Its shares gained a quarter in value over the course of the day as investors cheered the news.

PayPal’s revenues from its international business, which includes the UK, outstripped those from its home US market for the first time, parent company eBay said today. The news came as the eBay group turned in a 35% rise in sales for the year.

Price cuts helped Express Gifts, part of the Findel group, to enjoy its best Christmas for four years, the company said today. Sales were also ahead at sister company Kitbag, although ‘significant’ promotions meant lower profits forecast.

Dixons Retail, owner of the Currys, Dixons.co.uk and PC World brands, today reported growing multichannel sales – but said its total sales were falling compared to the same time last year. Meanwhile luxury brand Burberry reported strong growth in its sales, which it partly puts down to its use of digital and social media.