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UK online sales rise 11.4% in February despite dip

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UK online sales values rose 11.4% year on year in February, according to Office for National Statistics retail data highlighted by Parcelhero. Overall retail sales volumes increased 2.5% from a year earlier.

The figures point to a stronger month for consumer spending than the same period last year, with growth also visible in the latest three-month ONS measures.

Overall retail sales volumes for the three months to February were 3% higher than in the same period a year earlier. Over the same period, online spending values rose 12.1%, suggesting eCommerce remained a notable source of retail growth.

That annual picture contrasted with a weaker month-on-month reading. Compared with January, overall retail sales volumes fell 0.4% in February, while non-store retailing volumes – a category largely made up of online sales – slipped 0.5%.

Even so, the value of online spending edged higher every month. Online sales values rose 0.6% from January, indicating that although shoppers may have bought fewer goods online, they spent more overall.

The figures underline the mixed state of the consumer economy. Annual comparisons suggest households spent more freely than a year earlier, but the monthly decline in volumes points to weaker momentum after January.

Parcelhero also warned that the wider geopolitical backdrop could weigh on retail sentiment in the next set of figures.

David Jinks, Head of Consumer Research at Parcelhero, said the latest retail sales estimates for February offered “much to cheer”. Overall sales volumes rose 2.5% year on year, and the outlook for eCommerce was even stronger, with the amount Britons spent online up 11.4% compared with February 2025.

“Of course, monthly retail figures are notoriously volatile, which is why the ONS is increasingly concentrating on three-month figures. Here again, overall retail sales volumes were 3% higher for the three months to February 2026 than for the same period last year. Even more strikingly, online spending values rose 12.1% year on year when comparing the three months to February 2026 with the same period to February 2025,” said Jinks.

“However, the picture was more mixed when compared with the previous month. Overall retail sales volumes are estimated to have fallen 0.4% in February from January, with non-store retailing volumes – the category primarily made up of online sales – falling 0.5%. Encouragingly, though the amount of goods bought online in February may have slipped, online sales values – the amount of money spent – rose 0.6% from January, perhaps indicating shoppers were prepared to spend a little more on higher-value items once the January sales had finished,” he continued.

He highlighted that “retail in February 2026 was considerably healthier than in the same month last year”, but warned that broader geopolitical risks could overshadow recent gains. “The elephant in the room,” he said, is President Trump’s attack on Iran. With the US and Israel launching surprise air strikes on 28 February and the conflict widening since, he said the March retail estimates, due on 24 April, will provide an early indication of how consumer confidence has been affected.

“Ultimately, however fickle or strong key retail periods prove to be, stores with both a High Street and online offering are best protected against unexpected events. Parcelhero’s report ‘2030: Death of the High Street’, which has been discussed in Parliament, argues that retailers must develop an omnichannel approach, embracing both online and physical store sales,” said Jinks.

Mixed signals

The divergence between annual and monthly data is likely to draw attention from retailers trying to judge whether demand is strengthening or merely stabilising. Value growth can reflect shoppers buying more expensive items, paying higher prices, or a combination of both, while volume data gives a clearer measure of how much consumers actually purchased.

Non-store retailing remains an important indicator because it captures much of the UK’s online trade. A monthly fall in that category alongside a rise in online spending values suggests basket sizes or average selling prices may have increased even as transaction volumes softened.

Consumer mood

The reference to Iran highlights how quickly external shocks can alter the retail outlook. Rising geopolitical tensions can feed through to energy costs, transport prices and consumer confidence, all of which shape household spending decisions.

For retailers, that creates a difficult backdrop even after a stronger annual showing in February. Businesses with both shop and online operations may be better placed to absorb swings in demand between channels, particularly when consumer behaviour shifts suddenly.

The latest figures add to evidence that digital spending remains resilient even when broader retail performance is uneven. Online spending values outpaced total retail volume growth by a wide margin on both the year-on-year monthly and rolling three-month measures.

Whether that trend continues will depend on the next official readings on consumer activity and on whether households remain willing to spend amid a more uncertain international backdrop. For now, February offered retailers a firmer annual comparison, but it also exposed signs of fragility beneath the headline growth.



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Grove and Wantage fun day boosts cash for community groups

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Money raised from the event will go towards helping local people in the OX12 area (Image: Ed Nix)

The free summer extravaganza, held on Saturday, June 13, was jointly organised by Grove Rugby Football Club, the Ray Collins Trust and Grove Scouts, with more than 40 stalls raising money for charities and community causes in Wantage and Grove.

Bands, soloists and choirs performed from midday (Image: Ed Nix)

From midday, bands, choirs and soloists performed as children tucked into a free picnic and parents enjoyed hot barbecue food served by Scouts.

READ MORE: Award-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show designer from Oxfordshire gets MBE

A giant funfair offered classic attractions such as hook-a-duck, alongside bird of prey displays.

There was lots of dancing and singing at the fun day (Image: Ed Nix)

American Dance School led line dancing and showcases, with further demonstrations in rugby and martial arts.

Live music played from 12pm to 11pm (Image: Ed Nix)

Dog owners could also enter their pets into a show run by National Animal Welfare Trust Berkshire and sponsored by Larkmead Vets.





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Akamai launches AI agent traffic security framework

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Akamai has introduced a security framework to manage AI agent traffic, aimed at businesses that need to verify whether automated requests should be allowed to act.

Built into its Bot & Agent Control products, the framework combines identity checks, traffic monitoring and enforcement at the network edge. It targets merchants, publishers and other organisations facing a rise in automated requests from AI agents acting on users’ behalf.

The launch reflects a broader industry focus on whether an AI agent can be tied to an authorised human user and whether its behaviour can be trusted. That question has become more urgent as agents begin to shop, retrieve content and carry out tasks previously completed directly by people in browsers or apps.

Akamai’s model is built around six areas: verified identity, user-linked authentication, trust analysis, edge enforcement, content monetisation and traffic visibility. It is working with several partners to connect those elements.

One part of the framework focuses on agent identity in commercial transactions. Akamai is working with Visa on the Trusted Agent Protocol and with Skyfire and Experian on the Know Your Agent framework, intended to let agents declare identity, origin and intent while linking them to the platforms they use and the users they represent.

The approach is designed to help businesses distinguish between a legitimate AI shopping assistant and a malicious bot that may appear similar when it first connects to a website. It also aims to provide an audit trail for transactions carried out by software acting for a person.

Visa said agent identity will be a basic requirement if automated commerce is to expand.

“Without trusted identity and explicit permissioning, AI agents cannot participate in commerce at scale,” said Rubail Birwadker, Senior Vice President, Head of Growth Products and Partnerships, Visa. “Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol provides the identity layer that defines how agents are authenticated, authorized, and trusted at the transaction level so businesses and consumers can transact with confidence.”

Experian described the issue as one of transparency and accountability in AI-led interactions.

“AI agents are quickly becoming part of digital commerce, but trust will determine how far and how fast adoption grows,” said Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer at Experian. “With the Experian Agent Trust framework, we are helping businesses bring more transparency and accountability to AI-driven interactions by verifying identities, assessing risk, and strengthening confidence in every transaction. Our collaboration with Akamai and other ecosystem leaders reflects the industry’s shared commitment to building a secure foundation for agentic commerce that consumers and businesses can trust in real time.”

Skyfire, which is also involved in the identity effort, said commercial use of agents depends on a recognised trust layer.

“AI agents can’t participate in the economy without trusted identity and the ability to transact,” said Amir Sarhangi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Skyfire. “Skyfire provides that foundation – enabling agents to authenticate, operate within policy, and access global payment rails. With Akamai, we’re bringing that trust layer to the edge, so enterprises can securely enable trusted agents without re-architecting their existing systems.”

Identity checks

Another element covers the hand-off between a human user and an AI agent. Integrations with identity providers including Auth0 and Ping Identity allow organisations to apply existing checks such as behavioural analysis and multi-factor authentication to the agents their customers use.

The idea is that a company should not rely only on a session or browser signal when an agent is involved. Instead, it should be able to assess who the agent represents, what it is permitted to do and whether its actions match the user’s established profile.

“AI agents introduce a new trust challenge because session-based trust alone is no longer sufficient. Organisations need to understand who they represent, what agents are allowed to do, and how their actions are governed in real time,” said Loren Russon, Vice President, Product Management, Ping Identity. “By combining Ping’s Runtime Identity capabilities with Akamai’s edge enforcement and visibility, enterprises can extend identity and access controls to AI-driven interactions with stronger accountability and oversight.”

Akamai said the framework also moves beyond a simple allow-or-block approach. Its trust analysis layer is intended to assess interactions across browsers, bots and agents on a spectrum, helping organisations decide which requests support commercial goals and which may signal fraud, abuse or operational risk.

Publisher model

For publishers and content owners, the system also addresses how AI agents access and pay for web content. Partnerships with TollBit and Skyfire support models in which access can be negotiated and charged on a pay-per-request basis.

That could give media groups and other content businesses a way to distinguish between ordinary visitors, beneficial agents and scraping activity, while also setting commercial terms for machine-driven access to material on their sites.

The framework is tied to Akamai’s traffic analysis tools, including TrafficPeak, which can provide a view of how human users, useful AI agents and malicious bots interact with websites over time. Security teams and business managers can then use that data to adjust access rules and revenue strategies.

At the infrastructure level, enforcement happens at the edge of Akamai’s distributed network, allowing decisions on incoming requests to be made quickly without shifting checks to a central system.

Patrick Sullivan, Vice President, Chief Technology Officer of Security Strategy, Akamai, said the goal is to give businesses a way to tie identity to decision-making as automated interactions increase.

“AI agents are replacing clicks, acting and handling commerce for us. For that to work, businesses need to recognize not just the agent, but who is behind it and what it’s trying to do,” said Sullivan. “We’ve built this so that identity informs visibility, visibility drives trust, and trust powers the decisions that let companies safely grow and monetize these new AI interactions. We’re giving businesses the confidence to open their doors to AI without compromising security.”



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UK pest control company enters administration after three years

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LPPC Environmental Ltd, which operates as Pest Control Aberdeenshire, provides environmentally friendly pest and bird control services for households and businesses across the UK.

The company was founded in April 2023 and has bases in Aberdeen and Bolton.



The Pest Control Aberdeenshire website reads: “We’re passionate about the environment and providing pest control solutions that help wildlife and humans co-exist.

“We’re dedicated to deterring pests naturally, using traditional pest control methods such as hawking and falconry.

“Our pest control methods are both effective and non-toxic, and we always try to use a natural solution to deal with vermin where possible.”

LPPC Environmental Ltd falls into administration

After just three years in business, LPPC Environmental Ltd looks set to shut down after falling into administration.

A petition to wind up the company was presented to the Aberdeen Sheriff Court back in March, according to The Gazette.

The petition requested permission for the company to be “wound up by the Court and to appoint a liquidator”.

An administration order was granted on May 8, while Kevin Mapstone of BTG Begbies Traynor was appointed administrator on June 5.

Other UK companies that have closed or entered administration/liquidation in 2026

It has been a tough year for the UK high street, with several other retailers entering administration and others announcing widespread store closures.

Major high street brands LK Bennett and Claire’s both closed all their stores in April, having previously fallen into administration.



UK fashion retailers Leading Labels and Quiz are also set to close their remaining stores after falling into liquidation.

Other retailers have been forced to close stores this year, including:

Four UK travel companies have closed in 2026:

Luxury UK holiday company Salamander Voyages also shut down back in April after entering administration.



Meanwhile, four UK airlines have fallen into administration or liquidation:

UK delivery company Yodel is set to be phased out over the coming months after being acquired by InPost.

It’s also been reported that Morrisons is looking to sell some of its in-store pharmacies as it continues to cut costs.

It’s not been all bad news for the UK high street, with several major brands announcing new store openings for 2026, including Aldi, M&S, and Superdrug.

Plus-size clothing brand Evans has also returned to the UK high street in 2026 after closing all its stores and concessions in December 2020.

Have you used Pest Control Aberdeenshire before? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.





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