This brewer just launched a beer made from cloud water November 2, 2016 An Edinburgh-based brewer has just launched its new beer – made using water harvested from clouds. A team of four from Innis & Gunn flew an airbourne device over Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland to collect cloud water, which was used to make 500 pints of its new India pale ale. Read more: Kim Jong-un slashes beer [...]
Grocery prices were flat in October as Brexit-related price inflation was beaten by the supermarket price war November 2, 2016 Grocery prices were flat in October despite inflationary pressures from the fall in sterling, according to new figures. Analysis by website MySupermarket found that a basket of 35 key groceries cost £83.40, compared to £83.19 the month before. Read more: So Moneysupermarket? Comparison site is on track for a "record year" Annually, the price of the full [...]
Coconut flour, cactus water and charred food: Waitrose unveils 2016’s top food trends November 2, 2016 Were cactus water, wonky vegetables and coconut flour on the list for your latest weekly shop? No? Well, get with the times, apparently they were among the top food trends of the past year. So says Waitrose's 2016 Food and Drink Report, as consumers are becoming ever more focused on eating "lighter and fresher", while [...]
Tim Martin says European leaders are determined to put Britain’s consumption of German beer, French champagne and Swedish cider under threat November 2, 2016 The founder of pub giant Wetherspoon this morning slammed the "unelected" EU chief as well as the supporting leaders of Germany and France. Staunch Brexiter Tim Martin, who is chairman of the pub chain, hit out at EU leaders saying that they were determined to hurt the UK. Martin was active campaigning for Britain to leave the EU and signed [...]
Analysts have not gone easy on Next’s “miserable” results November 2, 2016 Analysts have not pulled their punches this morning in reaction to Next's announcement that sales fell 3.5 per cent in its third quarter. Retail Economics' chief executive Richard Lim described Next's sales growth as "miserable", and said that the "conditions on the high street remain desperate". Next's share price has been climbing this morning, however, [...]
Just Eat bumps up earnings guidance though order growth slows November 2, 2016 Warm weather hasn't been a dampener for Just Eat: the online takeaway group bumped up its full-year revenue and earnings guidance on the back of a decent third quarter. The figures Total orders for the third quarter were 33.3m, showing growth of 34 per cent year-on-year (on both a reported and like-for-like basis). UK orders [...]
Next battles tough third quarter with retail sales down nearly six per cent November 2, 2016 What a difference a few months make. In August, shares in Next spiked at the open as it said Brexit hadn't affected consumer spending. For its third quarter, though, total sales were down 3.5 per cent and retail sales were down 5.9 per cent. On the bright side, sales were up in October, while the retailer's sales [...]
Shoppers still love the high street – but want more technology, like VR and smart fitting rooms November 2, 2016 Shoppers still love the British high street experience – but they are craving the introduction of more in-store technologies, like virtual reality (VR), according to a new report. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of consumers prefer to physically see products before buying them and 57 per cent want more technology in-store, such as digital “smart [...]
Amazon has just launched its Black Friday deals store November 1, 2016 Black Friday: it's either a retail Valhalla or your worst nightmare – either way, it's increasingly becoming A Thing in the UK. And now Amazon has launched a kind of pre-Black Friday Black Friday store. Welcome to retail in 2016. The Countdown to Black Friday store is currently only for US customers, and features almost [...]
Black Friday 2016 UK: Here are eight shopping tips and tricks for how to make the most the retail extravaganza, according to the experts November 1, 2016 The retail bonanza-slash-bunfight known as Black Friday is nearly upon us – just under a month (25 November). This year sales "experts" are falling over themselves to give bargain hunters top tips to get the best deals without ending up in hospital/prison/debt. That might sound extreme, but after last year's discount day turned violent, it might be [...]