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 Sectorโs 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.
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Dec- 2020 -3 December
Retail hiring falls 20%
Hiring in the UKโs retail sector was down 19.7% in October compared to the same month last year, according to Linkedinโs โWorkforce Reportโ for December 2020. Nationally, across every industry, hiring in the UK was 10.2% lower than in October 2019, but hiring across the country was 5.8% higher in…
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Nov- 2020 -17 November
Consumer confidence falls with Covid restrictions
Consumer confidence in the UK has dropped significantly with the introduction of further pandemic restrictions, according to new data from PwC. Recent measures to combat the spread of Covid-19 have seen consumer sentiment fall from -1 in to -10 in October. This is the sharpest decline since the initial lockdown…
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12 November
UK GDP recovers 15.5% in Q3
The UK economy showed signs of recovery in Q3 as GDP grew a record 15.5% from July to September. The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics ( ONS) come after the UK suffered its largest ever decrease in GDP of 20.4% in Q2. This means that despite the…
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5 November
Bank of England unveils ยฃ150bn covid support package
The Bank of England (BoE) has unveiled it will give the UK economy a further ยฃ150bn in crisis support and keep interest rates at a record low, due to the rapid rise in Covid-19 restrictions across the country.ย At the Banks latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), members stated that the…
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3 November
Half-term sees footfall rise 6.2%
Footfall rose by 6.2% during half-term in the UK, according to the latest data from retail experts Springboard. This is despite a 53.7% footfall decrease in Wales, following the countryโs two-week โfirebreakโ lockdown. Retail park, high street and shopping centre rose by 3.5%, 5.2% and 11% over the period, respectively.…
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Oct- 2020 -30 October
UK shop vacancy rate increases to 13.2% in Q3
Shops in the UK are continuing to shutter, with the average shop vacancy rate increasing to 13.2% in the third quarter, according to data released by the Local Data Company and British Retail Consortium (BRC). On the high street, vacancies increased to 13% over the same period, in line with…
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28 October
Retail sales drop at sharpest pace since June
Retail sales figures in the UK have fallen at the sharpest pace since June, according to the Confederation of British Industryโs (CBI) latest monthly Distributive Trades Survey. In the survey of 116 firms, including 54 retailers, non-food retail categories such as department and clothing were among those reporting falling sales.…
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27 October
UK weekly retail footfall drops by 1.2%
Retail footfall in the UK has dropped by 1.2% in the last week from the previous seven days, according to recent figures released by Springboard. This continues a growing trend of decreasing footfall figures, with the prior week clocking in a decline of 3.1% Springboardโs data revealed the majority of…
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23 October
UK retail sales grow for fifth month in a row
Retail sales in the UK have risen for the fifth consecutive month, despite the introduction of the tiered lockdown system, according to the latest figures released by the ONS. Last month, overall growth in sales volume was up 5.5% compared with February’s pre-pandemic levels.ย In the three months to the…
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21 October
UK inflation rises to 0.5% after EOTHO ends
UK inflation for the month of September increased to 0.5% after the end of the Governmentโs Eat Out to Help Out scheme pushed up prices, according to the latest figures from the ONS. The figure is up from 0.2% in August where prices were driven down by the discount scheme.…
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