Consumer Spending

Championing plastic-free pet care

Britain has always been a nation of animal lovers. Now, we’re an island of truly pampered furry friends – with animals no longer regarded as pets, but one of the family. Even in turbulent economic times, Brits are continuing to invest in their pets, with the UK pet care market…

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Online sales witness 10% decline in July

Online retail sales witnessed a “sharp decline” of 10% in July, according to the latest figures from IMRG’s online sales index. The data group said the decline followed a shift in consumer spending patterns as the hospitality sector reopened throughout the month.  While online sales fell by 10% in the…

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Bira ‘disappointed’ mini-budget does ‘not help indie retailers’

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has expressed its “disappointment” that Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s mini-budget does not “directly help retail business owners”. Sunak announced a raft of further measures to support the recovery of the economy following the coronavirus lockdown, in Parliament yesterday (8 July). Features of the budget included…

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Reopening is ‘no magic bullet’ for retail, says BRC

Reopening is “no magic bullet” for retail, the British Retail Consortium has warned despite UK footfall improving since lockdown restrictions were lifted earlier this month. The BRC’s footfall tracker found that UK footfall decreased 53.4% year-on-year during the second week of reopening in England and NI. This is compared to a decrease of…

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Chancellor mulls VAT cut and could follow up with autumn tax rises

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering cutting VAT in order to help stimulate the economy but could follow the move up with a set of Autumn tax rises.  According to the Financial Times, Sunak is planning deferred tax rises and cuts to public spending in his autumn Budget as a follow up to further stimulus…

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UK economy not expected to recover until 2023, study suggests

The UK’s economy is not expected to return to normal until 2023 due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report issued by economic forecasting group EY Item Club. The group has warned that it is likely to take three years for the UK economy to return to the…

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The ins and outs of pet care marketing

Today, you could be forgiven for thinking that family affections towards pets are often equal to or greater than that of a cherished child. From birth into their forever home to those final, heart-wrenching days, a pet is part of the fabric of its owner’s daily life. No holiday, festival…

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Bank of England puts hold on interest rates due to Brexit uncertainty

The Bank of England has placed interest rates on hold following growing uncertainty around Brexit. A vote to leave rates unchanged held by the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was in favour of leaving rates at 0.75% by 9-0. Financial markets are currently indicating that rates will not rise until…

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Private equity and debt capital markets underpinning a sellers’ market in the pet industry

New research has found that private equity and debt capital markets are underpinning a sellers’ market in the pet industry. The global pet industry has seen 154 deals in the last 12 months split between sales to trade buyers (89%) and private equity buyers (11%), according to data from global…

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Retail consumer spending sees sharpest drop since 2012

Consumer spending has suffered its sharpest drop in six years, according to Visa’s latest consumer spending index. Spending in-store fell by 5.4 percent in April when compared to the same period last year, while overall consumer spending fell by two percent, matching March’s year-on-year figures. Online spending was also down…

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