Economy

Jun- 2021 -

16 June

UK inflation hits 2.1% as clothing prices rise

Inflation in the UK rose to 2.1% in May, up from 1.5% in April, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This increase has been fuelled by an increase in consumer spending as the British public comes out of lockdown. Meanwhile, clothing prices jumped by…

11 June

Retail boosted by ‘buoyant’ May sales

The UK’s retail sector in May has been boosted by “buoyant” sales, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Over the period, sales increased by 10% on a year-on-two-years basis, against a decline of 2.7% in May 2019. This represents a rise from the three-month average growth of 8.5%. Due…

May- 2021 -

21 May

Consumer confidence jumps six points in May

Consumer confidence in the UK has increased by six points to -9 in May 2021, according to GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index. The market research company primarily attributed this to the easing of lockdown restrictions and vaccine rollout, which it believes gave the country’s retail sector a much-needed boost. While respondents…

18 May

Retail footfall rises 0.5% as shoppers return to high streets

UK retail footfall rose by 0.5% last week, predominantly driven by a 3.9% increase across UK high streets, as shoppers continued to return to high streets following the easing of restrictions last month. According to the latest data from Springboard, whilst retail footfall overall increased, retail parks footfall declined by 3.4%…

13 May

Pet stores report strongest April sales growth, Barclaycard finds

Pet stores and veterinarians saw the strongest sales growth out of any retail group in the specialist retailer category, according to Barclaycard’s report into consumer spending in April. Both vets and pet stores posted a 32.4% rise in sales over the period, compared to two years ago. In comparison, the…

Apr- 2021 -

28 April

Shop prices fall in April as non-essential retailers reopen

UK shop prices continued to drop in April as non-essential retailers reopened after lockdown, according to the BRC-Nielsen shop price index. In order to entice consumers, retailers decreased shop prices by 1.3% over the period, compared to the previous drop of 2.4% in March. However, the fall in non-food prices…

27 April

Consumer confidence rises due to ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown

During the first three months of 2021, consumer confidence saw a record quarterly rise thanks to the government’s “roadmap” out of lockdown, according to the latest Deloitte Consumer Tracker. In the firm’s survey of 3,000 UK consumers between 19 and 22 March 2021, while most of the country was still…

14 April

First day of reopening sees UK footfall rise 155%

The first day of reopening saw footfall in UK retail destinations rose yesterday by +155.2% from the same day last week, and by +225.2% in shopping centres, according to the latest data from Springboard. It found the rise in footfall in high streets was slightly lower at +176.1% and was perhaps…

7 April

UK retail footfall rises as lockdown comes to end

Footfall across all retail destinations in the UK has jumped by 8.5% in the last week, from the week before, as consumers prepare for the country’s exit from lockdown. Retail parks and high streets saw a footfall increase of 9% and 9.7%, according to data analyst Springboard. Meanwhile, footfall in…

Mar- 2021 -

26 March

Retail sales begin to recover in February

Retail sales volumes witnessed a partial recovery in February with an increase of 2.1% when compared with the 8.2% fall seen in the previous month, according to the latest figures from the ONS. In total, sales were still down by 3.7% against last year before the impact of the coronavirus…