Economy
Economy explores the wider economic forces influencing the UK retail industry. This section covers inflation, consumer spending, interest rates, labour market conditions, and policy developments affecting retail performance and profitability. Retail Sector’s Economy coverage provides expert analysis, data-driven insight, and commentary to help retail leaders, financial planners, and operational managers understand how macroeconomic trends are shaping demand, costs, and investment decisions across the sector.
-
Dec- 2025 -5 December
Black Friday delivers limited lift to retail sales in November
Black Friday provided only a modest boost to discretionary retail sales in November, with total like-for-like sales rising 3.4% against a weak comparison period in 2024, according to BDO’s latest High Street Sales Tracker. The increase followed a 5.8% fall a year earlier. The month, which included the peak promotional…
Read More » -
2 December
Early Black Friday discounting slows shop price inflation to 0.6%
Shop price inflation fell to 0.6% in November, down from 1.0% in October, as retailers launched Black Friday discounting earlier than usual. Non-food prices declined by 0.6% year on year, compared with a fall of 0.4% in October. Food inflation eased to 3.0%, from 3.7% a month earlier. Fresh food…
Read More » -
Nov- 2025 -28 November
Half of Britons say Budget leaves them worse off, YouGov finds
Britons view the 2025 Budget as unfair and unaffordable, with only a small minority believing the measures will leave the country or their own finances better off, according to new YouGov polling. Half of those polled say the measures will leave the country worse off, with 50% saying the same…
Read More » -
27 November
Budget reaction: Retail split as business rates and import rules shift
The retail industry has labelled the Autumn Budget as a “mixed bag” for retail, offering relief for many shops, but bringing in new costs for others Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour’s first Autumn Statement, outlining permanent business rates reductions for 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure businesses and confirming new customs…
Read More » -
26 November
Budget business rates plan ‘an attack on London and the Southeast’, says Colliers
Business rates changes announced in the November Budget 2025 amount to “an attack on London and the Southeast”, according to Colliers, which said most of the firms facing higher charges under the new system are based in the two regions. The comments came as the government confirmed that overall business…
Read More » -
26 November
BUDGET: Income tax bands frozen, minimum wage to increase, NI-exempt pension threshold scrapped
Income tax and NI thresholds will be frozen while the minimum wage will rise by 50p from April 2026, the chancellor Rachel Reeves said in her Autumn Budget statement today. Reeves announced a series of tax changes in other areas, including salary-sacrificed NI contributions on pensions, as part of measures to…
Read More » -
21 November
Retail sales slip as shoppers await Budget and Black Friday
Retail sales volumes fell by 1.1% in October 2025, the first monthly drop since May, as retailers reported that many shoppers held off spending in the run-up to Black Friday. The fall followed a revised 0.7% rise in September and a 0.5% increase in August. Supermarkets, clothing stores and mail…
Read More » -
18 November
Consumer confidence drops to four-month low ahead of Autumn Budget
UK consumer sentiment has weakened in November as households reported greater strain on finances and growing uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget, according to the latest S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index. The index, which tracks financial wellbeing, labour market conditions, spending, savings and debt, fell to 45.2 in November…
Read More » -
13 November
UK economy slows to 0.1% in third quarter
The UK’s economic growth slowed to 0.1% in the third quarter, falling short of expectations from City analysts and the Bank of England (BoE). The Office for National Statistics said monthly output slipped 0.1% in September, with earlier figures for July and August revised down. The data arrives ahead of…
Read More » -
6 November
BoE holds interest rates at 4% ahead of Budget
The Bank of England (BoE) has voted to keep interest rates steady at 4% ahead of the upcoming Budget announcement on 26 November. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of five to four to maintain the rate, with four members voting to reduce it by 0.25…
Read More »
