Category Archives: Consumer spending

Littler India: why Britain’s south Asian garment stores are struggling

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They have been resilient amid wider high street decline – but units are now emptying in areas such as Southall, west London

The south Asian high street is facing a fight for its future in Britain as customers scale back wedding celebrations because of the cost of living crisis and young people’s changing preferences.

Businesses in London and Manchester have said they have witnessed a huge decline in customers after the pandemic with the cost of living crisis prompting many to decide against the traditional big south Asian wedding and to seek out cheaper products online.

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Next cheers retail sector with bumper profits and talk of falling prices

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Shares hit new high as chain says consumer backdrop is improving and ‘feels like it is now entering a new era’

Next said the prices it charges customers are falling this year, as the fashion and homeware retailer reported bumper profits and said the UK consumer backdrop was improving.

Simon Wolfson, the group’s chief executive, said that it had been “a long time” since the group had started a financial year in such a positive frame of mind after the positive sales and growth results for the year to January.

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Britons cut back on dining out and buying clothes, Barclays reveals

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Annual card spending report says consumers are prioritising travel and nights out and buying value-range groceries amid cost of living crisis

Hard-pressed consumers cut back on eating out and buying new clothes to prioritise spending on travel, entertainment and a visit to the pub over the past year, as soaring inflation and rising bills sharply curtailed the rate of spending growth.

Consumer card spending increased by 4.1% year-on-year in 2023, almost two-thirds lower than the 10.6% rise in 2022, as the sharp increase in the cost of living took its toll on households.

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Boxing Day footfall rises but number of shoppers is well down on pre-Covid levels

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Weaker Christmas spending amid cost of living crisis and fewer shops opening cut visitor numbers by 30% on 2019

Retailers have recorded a small pickup in Boxing Day footfall, but visits to stores remained well below pre-pandemic levels as several high street chains stayed shut.

Retailers have been braced for weak spending over the Christmas period as the UK economy stagnates amid the cost of living crisis.

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UK Christmas shoppers will pay more for less this year, say economists

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Cost of festive season is up almost a quarter in three years, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research

Consumers will pay more for less this Christmas, economists have warned, getting less of a bang for their buck than the faint phutting of a puny, overpriced cracker being pulled.

Although Britons will spend more than in the belt-tightening 2022 festive season, the resultant fare won’t yet match the pre-pandemic Christmases past.

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John Lewis to partner with Randox Health to open clinics in stores

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In effort to attract customers amid falling sales, retailer joins forces with Covid testing firm to offer full-body health checks

John Lewis is to team up with Covid testing firm Randox Health to open clinics within its shops in the latest effort to draw in customers amid tough trading conditions.

The clinics, which will be run by Randox staff, will offer full-body health checks including tests for vitamin deficiencies, hormone imbalances and key health concerns, among other services.

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AI Pictionary and a ‘robo-dog’ make UK shops’ hottest Christmas toy lists

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Retailers hope new version of top-selling board game plus Dog-E will help fuel festive sales recovery

A new version of Pictionary that pits artist against artificial intelligence and a pet “robo-dog” with a wagging tail are among the toys destined to appear on Christmas lists this year as retailers pray for better sales during the key festive trading period.

With the cost of living crisis looming large over another year’s celebrations, the Toy Retailers Association’s annual DreamToys list of the 20 “hottest” gifts includes a dozen that are under £50. Among them is Pictionary vs AI (£24), a new version of the classic board game that pitches (terrible) human sketches against the might of AI processing power.

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UK recession fears grow as shoppers cut spending ‘to save for Christmas’

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Drop in retail sales also because of consumer worries over high energy bills and mortgages, surveys suggest

Fears that the UK is heading for a recession this winter have intensified amid signs Britain’s hard-pressed households are cutting spending as they save for Christmas and higher fuel bills.

Two monthly snapshots of retail activity found shops and online outlets struggling because of consumer budgets being squeezed by dearer mortgages and the UK’s lingering cost of living crisis.

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UK retailers forced to slash prices after July washout and interest rate rise

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British Retail Consortium and KPMG report shows steep annual drop in volume of sales and a rise in promotional offers

Britain’s hard-pressed retailers are being forced to slash their prices to drum up business after dismal summer weather and ever-higher interest rates combined to depress consumer spending in July.

The monthly health check of high street and online spending patterns from the British Retail Consortium and the consultancy KPMG reported a steep annual drop in the volume of sales and an increasing number of retailers offering promotional offers to woo consumers reluctant to part with their cash.

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Almost 50 UK shops closed for good every day in 2022, says report

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Centre for Retail Research says 17,145 stores shut in total, up almost 50% on 2021, during pandemic

Last year was a “brutal” one for Britain’s retail sector, with more shops shutting down than at any other point in the last five years, and 2023 will be similarly challenging, according to industry groups.

About 47 shops on average pulled down their shutters for the final time every day last year, according to analysis from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). It found a total of 17,145 shops on high streets and in other locations closed for good over 2022. This is up almost 50% on the 11,449 shops closed in 2021, during the Covid pandemic.

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More than a third of UK hospitality firms ‘could go bust by next year’

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Pubs, restaurants and hotels threatened by energy bills and food price inflation, survey finds

More than a third of UK hospitality businesses, including pubs, restaurants and hotels, could go bust by early next year as energy bills surge and bookings fall, according to a new survey.

With nearly all businesses saying they face higher energy costs and food price inflation, 35% of respondents to a quarterly hospitality industry survey said they expected to be operating at a loss or to be unable to continue trading by the end of the year.

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Biggest interest rate rise for 25 years could spell showdown at the Bank

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This week’s decision could pit Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey against an expansionary PM and chancellor

A lightning strike from the Bank of England awaits. Having delayed its decision until after the period of national mourning for the death of the Queen, Threadneedle Street could this week launch the biggest rise in borrowing costs for at least 25 years.

Announcing its plans a day before Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget on Friday, the central bank is widely expected to use a fast and forceful rate increase to show its commitment to tackling soaring borrowing costs – despite the gathering storm clouds for the British economy.

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Pound falls as weak retail sales raise fears UK economy is in recession

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On Black Wednesday anniversary, sterling hits 37-year low against dollar and 17-month low against euro

Fears that the British economy is already in recession after a slump in retail sales last month triggered heavy selling of the pound on international money markets taking it to a 37-year low against the dollar.

With average UK wages continuing to fall behind rising prices and the Bank of England expected to push up interest rates next week, sterling fell by more than 1% against the US currency to $1.135, its lowest since 1985.

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UK consumer confidence weaker than during major recessions

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Monthly look finds deepening pessimism about personal finances and prospects for the economy

Consumer confidence in the UK is weaker than during the four major recessions of the past half century as rapidly rising inflation saps morale.

Although the UK is technically yet to enter recession, the latest barometer of sentiment from the data company GfK found the public gloomier than at any time since the survey began in January 1974.

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UK retailers hit by sharp drop in spending as inflation soars

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Boost in demand in June on back of jubilee celebrations fails to prevent third successive fall

Britain’s retailers are suffering the sharpest drop in spending since the depths of the coronavirus pandemic as hard-pressed consumers tighten their belts as a result of soaring inflation.

The monthly health check from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported a third successive drop in activity as the cost of living crisis continued to bite.

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Most small firms fear long-term fallout from UK’s cost of living crisis

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Half worry rocketing prices will cut spending, while three in four fear long-term damage to businesses

Three-quarters of small and medium-sized companies are worried about the long-term impact the cost of living crisis, soaring energy bills and rising inflation will have on their business, a survey has found.

Just over half (51%) of SMEs said they were concerned that rocketing prices would dent consumer spending, in response to Barclays’ SME Barometer, a quarterly survey of business sentiment conducted for the bank.

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Australians urged to plan ahead for Christmas shopping amid ‘dramatically bad’ global supply chain crisis

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Covid shutdowns of major international ports are putting extreme pressure on retailers to fill orders and keep shelves stocked

Australians have been warned not to leave their Christmas shopping until the last minute with the global supply chain crisis leaving retailers struggling to fill orders and keep shelves stocked.

The “dramatically bad” global supply chain situation in Asia could also see major Australian retailers dumping Black Friday sales as they are left with limited stock.

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Comfort food and cleaning products: no wonder Unilever’s doing so well

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The company’s wide portfolio has been perfectly suited to pandemic shopping. This week’s results will be strong again

A vast portfolio of food and household brands has allowed the consumer goods giant Unilever to navigate its way through the pandemic.

The maker of Domestos bleach, Dove soap and Cif cleaner benefited from a surge in demand for cleaning products in the initial stages of the health crisis. Its shares rose, and Unilever briefly became the most valuable company in the FTSE 100 index last year. And the company behind Marmite, Colman’s mustard and Magnum ice-cream benefited from the forced shift to eating out less and cooking at home, which some analysts think could be a long-term change.

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‘I thought buying things would make me feel better. It didn’t’: The rise of emotional spending

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Many of us are living for the buzz of the doorbell – spending billions we can’t afford on stuff we don’t need. Here is how to recognise the problem and regain control

In the past fortnight, I have bought the following items online: a hideous cat tree that takes up most of my living room, a lavender pillow spray, two scarves, a pair of gloves, two candles, a sheet mask, a pair of fleece-lined jogging bottoms (so comfy!), a card-holder and an under-eye brightening cream. None of these purchases were essential. Many I haven’t even taken out of the packaging, leaving them in a pile by the front door.

Ten months into the pandemic, I know the rhythms of the courier networks better than I know my menstrual cycle. Royal Mail in the morning; DPD and Hermes in the afternoon. Amazon comes any time, including late at night. DPD couriers insist on taking a photo of you with the package, mortifyingly. I wonder where these photos go: me in a food-stained tracksuit, dirty-haired, holding an armful of packages I can’t remember ordering with an abashed smile. I pray they never see the light of day.

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The rock star of retail: how Topshop changed the face of fashion

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With its celebrity collaborations and turbo-charged launches, Philip Green’s Topshop brought fun and drama to the once uninspiring business of clothes-shopping. We chart the rise and fall of the pandemic’s most glamorous corporate victim

“What’s this I’m reading in the paper? It’s a load of absolute shit, that’s what it is. What’s the matter with you? Are you stupid or what? I’ve never read so much rubbish in my life.”

It was February 2010, and I was at my desk in the Guardian office. Philip Green didn’t need to introduce himself. His habit of bellowing down the phone was unmistakable, and I had just written an article about how I was falling out of love with Topshop after a decade being in thrall to its shop floor. Green never did take kindly to criticism of the golden child of his Arcadia empire.

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