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- 2020 -8 July
Government to crack down on violence against shopworkers
The government has vowed to crack down on violence and abuse against shopworkers. In a statement, yesterday the Home Office said it will work with National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) on a best practice guide to support staff in reporting these crimes, strengthening and making full use of existing…
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7 July
Usdaw urges chancellor to announce retail recovery plan
Retail trade union Usdaw is calling on the chancellor to announce in Wednesday’s (8 June) economic statement an “urgent recovery plan” for the “struggling retail industry”, which is developed with trade unions and retail employers. Some of the factors, Usdaw is urging the government to cover fundamental business rates, an…
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3 July
Consumer confidence increases in June
GfK’s fourth Covid-19 flash report has revealed Consumer Confidence Index increased by three points to -27 over the past two weeks. Joe Staton, GfK‘s client strategy director, said after the recent “near-historic low” of -36 for the Consumer Confidence Barometer last month, there are some early signs of improvement…
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Jun- 2020 -30 June
Revised ONS data reveals greater GDP drop in Q1 2020
The UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms fell by 2.2% in Q1 2020, which has been revised downwards by 0.2 percentage points from the Office for National Statisitic’s (ONS) first quarterly estimate. The ONS said it is the largest fall in UK GDP since Q3 1979, when it…
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26 June
Just 13.8% of retail rent collected on June quarter day
Landlords received just 13.8% of rent owed by the UK retailers on this quarter’s rent date, compared with the 19.8% collected in March, according to new data from Re-Leased. The cloud-based commercial property management platform said retail properties were the “worst performing group” compared with offices and the industrial sector,…
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19 June
UK consumer confidence rises in June
GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased by six points to -30 in June. The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the last 12 months has improved by one point to -59, but is still 27 points lower than in June 2019. Expectations for the general economic…
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18 June
UK inflation hits four-year low
The UK’s inflation rate dropped to 0.5% in May, down from 0.8% in April, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). According to the ONS, falling prices for motor fuels and a variety of recreational and cultural goods resulted in the largest downward contributions to inflation…
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12 June
UK GDP slumps over 20% in April as full impact of Covid-19 is felt
GDP slumped by 20.4% in April 2020, following a fall of 5.8% in March, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is the biggest monthly fall since the ONS’ series began in 1997, with the measure also falling by 10.4% in the three months…
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11 June
Majority of SMEs believe UK is headed for deep recession post-pandemic
Almost seven in 10 (69%) small business owners believe the UK is heading for a deep recession following the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdown, according to new research from FreeAgent. In addition, almost three quarters (73%) believe many small businesses will struggle to make enough money to survive and two…
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10 June
UK GDP expected to decline 7.2% in 2020 amid ongoing pandemic
The continuing impact of the Covid-19 virus is expected to see the UK economy contract by 7.2% in 2020, with the economy unlikely to be able to fully restart until a vaccine or effective treatments for the virus are available. This is according to KPMG UK’s latest quarterly Economic Outlook,…
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