Aldi is to run trials of a click-and-collect grocery service in Britain as it looks to expand its online offering. The trial, for staff at one of the German discounter’s stores in the Midlands, is expected to be introduced around the country in the next few weeks (The Times £). Aldi is testing a click and collect service in the UK as the German discounter seeks to boost sales by offering online shopping for the first time (The Telegraph).

UK shopping destinations have recorded the first weekly drop in visitor numbers since the depths of lockdown in late April, as the end of the summer holidays and reopening of schools deterred consumers from visiting high streets. (The Guardian)

Domino’s Pizza, Britain’s biggest pizza delivery chain, is to create 5,000 new jobs and support more than 1,000 placements in the government’s fledgling Kickstart scheme as it gears up for its busiest time of year (The Guardian). Domino’s Pizza says it is hiring an additional 5,000 staff following the surge in demand for takeaway meals during the coronavirus crisis (Sky News).

The UK government is preparing to extend coronavirus measures preventing restaurateurs and retailers from being evicted from their premises by landlords until the end of the year. (The Financial Times £)

The boss of JD Wetherspoon has warned of the dangers of demonising pubs for propagating the spread of Covid-19, insisting that their role has been “widely misunderstood” (The Times £). JD Wetherspoon has said that 66 of its workers have tested positive for the coronavirus but maintains that visiting pubs is safe (The BBC, The Guardian). Wetherspoons slumps 5% as it is rocked by staff Covid infections and the ‘rule of six’ restrictions (The Daily Mail).

Hundreds of millions of cider apples will be left to rot as farmers and drinks makers try to recover from the impact of coronavirus. Since lockdown, cider consumption has fallen heavily, with Britons drinking more than half a million fewer litres a week, according to Nielsen, the market research company. (The Times £)

The taxpayer will have guaranteed nearly £70bn in loans to UK businesses by March 2021, according to new industry estimates. But the expected bill for bad loans to UK firms has fallen from £30bn to “only” £20bn, according to TheCityUK. (The BBC)

UK retailers, tourism businesses and airport operators are seeking legal advice after the “body blow” of a government decision to scrap value added tax relief for overseas visitors. (The Financial Times £)

Amazon is hiring another 100,000 workers in the US and Canada, in its fourth such recruitment spree this year, as it races to keep up with a surge in online shopping fuelled by social-distancing curbs and lockdowns. (The Financial Times £)

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