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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Apr- 2018 -16 April
High street collapse down to higher business rates, says Colliers
Fifteen major retailers or restaurant groups have gone into CVA or administration in the twelve months since the April 2017 Business Rates Revaluation, according to Colliers International, the global commercial real estate agency and consultancy. Ten of those have happened since the beginning of this year – in the last…
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6 April
UK retail sees second worst month on record for in-store sales
Like-for-like (LFL) in-store sales were down by 10.1% in the month of March, making it the second worst figures on record for UK retail. BDOโs High Street Sales Tracker report said the poor sales was largely attributed to the snowy weather. According to the business advisory firmโs records, the only…
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3 April
21,000 retail jobs lost or threatened so far this year
Over 21,000 jobs have been axed or put at risk in the first three months of the year as retailers struggle to break even. A Press Association analysis revealed that 21,413 staff members have already been made redundant or had their role threatened, with the majority being from large high-street…
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Mar- 2018 -29 March
A quarter of SME retailers expect to see Easter sales increase
A quarter of SME retailers expect to see an increase in sales activity over the Easter bank holiday weekend, according to a study commissioned by Royal Mail. DIY items, electronics and alcohol are the products that most SME retailers expect will sell well over the Easter bank holiday weekend. The…
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26 March
No-deal Brexit โcould add ยฃ7.8bnโ to retail costs
New research launched from Retail Economics and Squire Patton Boggs shows that ยฃ7.8bn could be added to the cost of retail goods if the UK fails to agree a favourable trade deal with the EU before departure. The research features in the first edition of the UK Retail Brexit and…
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23 March
Retail sales see first increase in two months
Retail sales increased by 0.8% in February this year compared with the previous month, with increases seen across all main sectors except non-food stores. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the first uptick after two monthly declines in December and January, resulting in an overall…
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21 March
UK consumer price inflation falls in February
The consumer price inflation (CPI) rate fell from 2.7% in January to 2.5% in February 2018, according to the Office of National Statistics. The largest contributions to the fall were attributed to transport and food prices, which rose by less than the previous year. Rising prices for footwear produced the…
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14 March
Morrisons reports third consecutive year of profit growth
Supermarket giant Morrisons has revealed profit growth of 16.9% to ยฃ380m, in a third consecutive year of positive financial growth. The groupโs like-for-like sales also rose to 2.8% in 2018, compared with 1.9% the previous year, and revenue increased by 5.8% to ยฃ17.3bn. In the trading update the group said…
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13 March
Consumer spending suffers weakest start since 2012
The latest Visa UK Consumer Spending Index data revealed a reduction in overall consumer spending in February, calling it the weakest start to the year since 2012. On an annual basis expenditure declined by 1.1%, similar to the 1.2% reduction seen at the start of 2018. Overall, household spending has…
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12 March
Quarter of major UK retailers likely to suffer โfinancial distressโ
A new study of over 1600 larger UK retailers with total assets of ยฃ5m or over by Company Watch, a financial analytics firm, found over a quarter were financially vulnerable to rises in interest rate costs this year. Company Watch compares the financial strength of companies using its unique H-Score…
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