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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Mar- 2018 -1 March
Shoppers shun high street for online as January sees strongest growth since 2013
Online retail delivery order volumes were up 20.6% year-on-year in January, according to the latest data from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index. This was the strongest January growth for online order volumes since 2013. During the same period, footfall fell to its lowest January rate in five years โ…
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Feb- 2018 -28 February
Pressures on shop prices ease
February shop price deflation deepened to 0.8% in February 2018 compared 0.5% with the previous month. According the British Retail Consortium deflation in non-food prices deepened in February, with prices decreasing at a rate of 2.2% compared to January when prices declined by 1.9%. This was the deepest deflation since…
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27 February
High street banks urged to continue taking in old ยฃ10 notes to โsaveโ retailers
Retailers are continuing to hand out old ยฃ10 notes despite them ceasing to be legal tender on 1 March 2018. However, the Bank of England has not asked shops to stop giving them as change, which could cause issues as ยฃ2bn effectively becomes unspendable. The British Retail Consortium said: โIt…
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26 February
90% of small firms not prepared for new data regulation
Over a third of small businesses have not yet started preparing for the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). A further third (35%) are only in the early stages of preparation, claims the new research published today. Only 8% of…
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23 February
Retail sales growth slows for third consecutive month
UK retail sales growth slowed for the third month in a row, according to CBIโs Quarterly Distributive Trades Survey. A growth in sales volumes was recorded in the grocers, hardware and DIY, and non-store goods (i.e. internet and mail order) sub-sectors. However, sales fell in clothing, footwear and leather, department…
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21 February
International consumers prepared to pay up to 22% more for British goods
As UK exports continue to thrive, new research by Barclays shows the premium that international consumers are prepared to pay for โmade in Britainโ labelled goods. An international survey of 8,060 people from eight markets (France, Germany, Republic of Ireland, India, China, UAE, USA, and South Africa) has uncovered the…
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19 February
Third of SME retailers expect Bitcoin on high street in two years
Cryptocurrency will be a regular thing on the UK high street say a third of SME owners.A study conducted by payments provider Paymentsense showed that 35% of SME owners surveyed expected to see Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency on the high street within the next two years. Over a…
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16 February
Co-op set to open โrecord numberโ of stores and refits
The Co-op will be opening 30 new food stores and refurbishing seven existing properties from its current portfolio in the London region. The first phase of new stores will be located in Walthamstow, Colliers Wood Station, Cricklewood, Colindale Station and Paddington. Peter Batt, Co-op divisional managing director, said it’s an…
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16 February
UK retail sales at lowest for almost a year
UK retail sales increased by 0.1% in January, their lowest growth rate since April 2017, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The latest figures showed declines across all segments except non-food stores. The 0.1% growth fell short of the predicted increase of 0.5%. When compared with January 2017,…
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13 February
Insolvency cracks showing with one in five fashion retailers
Some 19% of UK clothing retailers are currently exhibiting early warning signs that they are at risk of going insolvent, according to research by accountancy firm Moore Stephens. Out of 35,078 fashion retailers analysed, 6,580 are showing early signs of financial distress, which can include a large fall in revenue…
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