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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Jul- 2022 -20 July
Inflation hits 40-year high at 9.4%
Inflation has hit a new 40-year high with consumer price inflation reaching 9.4% in June, up from 9.1% in May, as the cost of living crisis continues to accelerate, putting a further strain on household spending. According to the Office for National Statistics, the biggest contributors to the latest figure…
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19 July
90% of consumers intend to cut back spending, Grant Thornton finds
New research from Grant Thornton and Retail Economics has revealed that almost 90% of UK consumers intend to cut back their spending on non-essentials over the year ahead. Of those planning to cut back, the research also showed that more than a quarter (28%) intend to do so across all…
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14 July
Retailers welcome ‘record’ credit surge in Q1
The retail store and online credit sector welcomed its “faster ever” start to the year, as new business volumes reached £2.1bn in the opening quarter, according to the Finance and Leasing Association. This marks the highest ever level of borrowing for Q1 with an increase of 12% compared to the…
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13 July
Household budgets continue to tighten amid rising inflation
Data from Barclaycard has revealed that spending on essential items increased 4.4%, which has been largely driven by a surge in fuel spend (up 24.8%) as petrol and diesel prices continued to climb. However, shopping at supermarkets and specialist food and drink stores saw year-on-year decreases of 0.8% and 1.1%…
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12 July
Matalan revenues up 29% in Q1
Matalan has revealed that its total revenue for the 13 weeks to FY23 currently sits at £286.5m, which shows a 29% year-on-year increase compared to last year’s £221.8m. The company’s EBITDA post adoption of IFRS16 also reached £44.4m so far this year, showing an increase of £2.6m compared to £41.8m …
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11 July
53% of retail workers say jobs are more demanding, report finds
Over half (53%) of UK retail workers described their jobs as demanding, with the amount of work they are expected to complete as “being worse than the onset of Covid”, according to YOOBIC’s ‘2022 State of the Frontline Employee Experience’ survey. It found that 63% of retail staff also described…
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8 July
Superdrug sees profits surge 5% to £45m
Superdrug has revealed its full-year profit before tax has increased 141.3% to £45.3m, compared with £18.8m the previous year for the 53-week period ended 1 January 2022. It comes as it revealed its full-year revenues also increased 5.1% to £1.168bn, compared with £1.11bn in 2020 for the 53 week period…
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6 July
Chapel Down H1 revenues meet expectations amid expansion plans
Chapel Down, an English wine maker based near Tenterden, Kent, has reported its H1 revenues met management expectations as it is on course to double in size over the next five years. Chapel Down said the outlook for the rest of 2022 remains “positive” and expects margins to improve “resulting…
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5 July
Customer complaints costing UK retail more than £9bn
Customer complaints have reached an all-time high which has cost businesses more than £9.24bn a month in staff hours, according to the Institute of Customer Service. The Institute of Customer Service’s Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) revealed that 17.3% of UK customers have experienced a product or service problem, the highest…
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5 July
Over one in five SMEs unable to access external finance, research finds
New research commissioned by Manx Financial Group has revealed that more than one in five (22%) small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that reportedly needed external finance over the last couple of years were unable to access it, while over a quarter (27%) have had to stop or pause an…
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