Christmas
This coverage explores the critical Christmas trading period in the UK retail sector, focusing on sales performance, promotional strategies, consumer trends, supply chain planning, and operational challenges. Reporting highlights how retailers prepare for and execute peak season campaigns to maximise revenue and manage demand. Designed for executives and managers, it provides insights into effective planning and competitive positioning during the festive season.
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Mar- 2023 -29 MarchHealth & Beauty
Boots welcomes ‘record’ beauty sales over Christmas period
Boots has revealed that for the three months to 28 February, Christmas trading brought a “record-breaking” performance for its beauty category which saw retail sales grow 16%. The business reported its eighth consecutive quarter of market share growth across all categories, with beauty performing the best for the quarter. Skincare…
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28 MarchSupermarkets
Supermarket sales up 8.6% as grocery inflation hits 17.5%
Take-home grocery sales increased 8.6% over the most recent 12 week-period as grocery price inflation reached record levels. According to the latest figures from Kantar, grocery price inflation reached 17.5%, adding £837 to the average household’s annual bill, with prices rising fastest in eggs, milk and cheese. Across the retailers,…
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27 MarchFeatures
It’s always someone’s birthday: gift cards remain evergreen
Inflation and rising living costs have turned consumers into paranoid penny-pinchers, who are cautiously awaiting the next fiscal catastrophe to empty their wallets once again. According to Barclays, nearly six in 10 Brits are actively curbing their discretionary purchases, which has led to just a 5.5% uplift in year-on-year spending…
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22 MarchNews
Asda expands Claire’s partnership to 500 locations
Accessories and jewellery retailer Claire’s is partnering up with supermarket chain Asda to bring Claire’s products to more than 500 Asda stores across the UK. The partnership comes after a successful initial ‘test and learn’ with 10 stores in October 2020, which has now been expanded. This partnership will allow…
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21 MarchOnline & Digital
Amazon to axe a further 9,000 jobs
Amazon has plans to cut a further 9,000 jobs in the areas of cloud computing and advertising as a way to cut its expenses. The news came in the form of an announcement by CEO Andy Jassy that was shared with the e-retailer’s employees yesterday (20 March). However, Jassy did…
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14 MarchHigh Street
Severe weather sees footfall drop 7%
Footfall across UK retail destinations declined by -7% last week due to “severe” weather conditions, a far greater decline than in the week before last when footfall had dropped by a modest -1.1%, according to the latest figures from Springboard. Springboard revealed that high streets were by far the hardest…
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14 MarchOnline & Digital
Virgin Wines launches business review as profits plummet
Virgin Wines has launched a full review of the business after profits tumbled to £0.1m in its half-year results, down from £3.2m the prior year, as the business was hit by challenges “particularly” over the peak Christmas trading period. In the six months ended 31 December 2022, total revenues were…
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14 MarchEconomy
Retail jobs at lowest four quarter average in over a decade
The number of retail jobs in the UK was down to its lowest average four quarter level in over a decade, according to ONS Labour Market figures. The four quarter average dropped to 3.05 million retail jobs in December 2022, down from 3.08 million in December 2021. The overall number…
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10 MarchEconomy
UK GDP grows by 0.3% in January
Monthly gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by a narrow 0.3% in January, with a faster recovery than expected, according to the latest figures released by ONS on Friday. The news comes after economists predicted the UK could go into recession, considering that in the three months…
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8 MarchHigh Street
Hotel Chocolat revenues and profit tumble in H1
Hotel Chocolat has reported a fall in revenues in the half-year ended 25 December 2022, falling from £142m last year to £129m, with its underlying PBT dropping to £10.2m in H1 from £25.4m in the same period last year. In addition, the retailer also reported that its underlying operating profit…
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