Economy
The latest news, updates and analysis on the economy and how it is affecting the UK retail industry. Sign up to the Daily Briefing and let Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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Aug- 2022 -26 August
Energy price cap to rise by 80% to £3,549 from October
Ofgem has confirmed that the energy price cap will increase by 80% to a record £3,549 a year for dual fuel for an average household from 1 October 2022. The rise will affect those on standard variable tariffs, with the record annual bill only being based on typical usage. At…
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19 August
Retail sales improve slightly in July
Retail sales volumes rose by 0.3% in July 2022 following a fall of 0.2% in June 2022, according to the latest data from the Office for national Statistics (ONS). Sales volumes were 2.3% above their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) February 2020 levels, but down over the past year. Looking more broadly, in…
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19 August
Consumer confidence hits record low of -44 in August
Acute concerns amid the soaring cost of living and bleak economic prospects saw GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index fall by three points to -44 in August, the lowest since records began in 1974. It is reported that all five measures of the index were down in comparison to the 22…
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18 August
Made.com calls in advisers to shore up balance sheet
Made.com Group, the online furniture retailer, has reportedly called in advisers to help shore up its balance sheet as it plans for a share sale to raise approximately £50m, according to Sky News. The London-listed company has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to evaluate cost-cutting strategies and restructuring options. Made.com is said…
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17 August
Inflation hits new 40-year high at 10.1%
Inflation has once again broken records with a new 40-year high recorded last month, as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit 10.1% in the 12 months to July 2022, up from 9.4% in June. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the biggest contribution to this figure was rising…
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16 August
Wages see highest fall on record amid rising inflation
Regular pay in the UK has fallen by a “record” 3% in the quarter ending June 2022, the steepest decline since records began two decades ago, as the nation continues to battle rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. Not accounting for inflation, growth in regular pay, excluding bonuses, would be…
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12 August
UK economy contracts 0.1% in second quarter
The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter of the year (Apr to June) 2022, according to the latest estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). On a monthly basis GDP is estimated to have fallen by 0.6% in June 2022, following an increase of 0.4% in…
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11 August
Retail leaders call on police to prioritise retail crime
Some 106 of the UK’s leading retail voices have reportedly written to Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales, calling on them to commit to “making retail crime a priority” in local policing strategies. The letters are said to express the retailers’ increasing concerns about the rising levels of…
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10 August
Heatwave helps boost retail sales 2.3% in July
Retail sales increased 2.3% in July as the heatwave experienced across the UK helped boost demand for “hot weather essentials”, according to the latest data from the BRC and KPMG retail sales monitor. UK retail sales increased 1.6% on a like-for-like basis from July 2021, when they had increased 4.7%.…
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10 August
Deliveroo losses widen as Simon Wolfson steps down from board
Deliveroo has revealed its H1 pre-tax losses have widened to £147m from £95m the year prior and also confirmed that Next CEO Simon Wolfson has decided to step down from its board. The food delivery service saw revenue increase 12% to £1.01bn in 2022 compared with £907m in 2021, additionally,…
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