Retail sales slipped back in January as shoppers became more cautious about spending, industry figures show. Like-for-like sales were down 0.6% on the same month last year, the first decline since August, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. The BRC said retailers saw the slowest growth over the key festive period since 2009.

Former Procter & Gamble (P&G) marketer Roisin Donnelly has joined the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) in a role that will see her "promote and simplify digital for marketers." Donnelly will chair a new IAB UK Advertiser Steering Group, which was formed to ensure that advertisers are fully aware of the benefits digital advertising has to offer and stay up to speed on the latest opportunities.

Only 4% of UK adults can correctly identify whether a news story is true or fake, according to a recent survey by Channel 4 as part of its Fake News Week. The Yougov poll was carried out over a two-day period from a sample of 1,684 UK adults weighted to be representative by age, gender, education qualification, social grade, as well as the 2015 election and EU referendum vote.

The BBC's commitment to fund 150 local democracy reporters is a little like using a sticking plaster to fix a severed limb. The deal worked out between the News Media Association and the BBC means GBP8m a year out of the corporation's GBP3.7bn licence fee income will be used to fund these reporters who will be embedded in local newsrooms -- but have to file to all media.

More than half of UK companies expect to have to raise prices over the next 12 months following the slump in sterling since the Brexit vote, according to a new report from the British Chambers of Commerce. It comes as a separate poll showed more than half of business leaders had seen a negative impact on their companies from the referendum.

Senior executives from Rupert Murdoch-owned companies met the prime minister or chancellor 10 times in a year -- more than any other media organisation, according to a new analysis. There were 10 meetings with either David Cameron or George Osborne, and later Theresa May or the chancellor, Philip Hammond, compared with seven with named executives for the BBC.

Amazon has begun searching for high street locations in prime areas of central London ahead of the potential launch of a checkout-free grocery chain later this year. The online retail giant is testing its first Amazon Go store near its base in Seattle, where the firm's employees are able to buy goods without queuing at a till.

Racist myths perpetrated by the far right are to be challenged online by Theresa May's government as part of a GBP60 million battle against extremism to be launched by the advertising giant MC Saatchi. Anti-hate speech experts say that the Home Office will bring the battle against propaganda directly to the ground occupied by the "alt-right" movement by using social media.

Top British brands are pulling their advertisements from the television channel RT UK amid accusations that it is spreading "propaganda and fake news" for Russia's president, Vladimir Putin. The insurer Direct Line, betting company Coral, makeup brand Max Factor and the makers of Gaviscon, Strepsils and Vanish have all cancelled ads on the Kremlin-backed 24-hour news channel.

Being classed as "simple" isn't always seen as a positive, but when it comes to brand proposition, being simple is most definitely an advantage. The majority of consumers (62%) are prepared to pay more for a simple experience, new research from Siegel+Gale finds, while 61% would recommend a brand if it has a clear proposition that saves them time.