Pubs and restaurants battle to keep prices competitive amid ‘intense pressure’ on margins May 17, 2022 The hospitality sector has warned of “intense pressure” on margins while shoppers have been told food prices could surge as much as 10 per cent. Marks & Spencer chairman Archie Norman cautioned that shoppers could see an even pricey weekly shop amid historic levels of inflation. Speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on [...]
Brits hold back on buying sofas and fridges as cost of living climbs May 10, 2022 Brits have held back on buying big ticket items, such as furniture, as living costs spiral. Retail sales in the UK fell on a like-for-like basis by 1.7 per cent last month, compared to April 2021. Sales growth went into decline for the first time in 15 months as retailers face a balancing act between [...]
FCA warns of buy now pay later usage amid cost of living crunch May 10, 2022 Consumer groups have sounded the alarm over buy-now pay-later and credit usage as fresh data reveals Brits are turning to the products to buy essentials and ease the pain of a cost of living crunch.
Supermarket sales slow over Easter as Brits start to cut back on grocery purchases May 4, 2022 Supermarket sales slowed last month as spending habits returned to normal after pandemic restrictions. Households are tightening their purse strings after the first tranche of higher bills hit budgets this spring while spending habits are also normalising after the easing of lockdown restrictions. Shoppers added slightly fewer items to their baskets over the last four [...]
Households face extra £271 on annual food bill as grocery inflation highest since 2011 April 26, 2022 Households are facing an additional £271 to their grocery bill, with price inflation now standing at the highest level in over a decade. According to fresh data from Kantar, grocery price inflation has reached 5.9 per cent, the highest level since December 2011. Brits are facing a slew of price increases this spring, as businesses [...]
As inflation pushes up prices, businesses should only hike them where it really counts April 13, 2022 Just as the impact of the pandemic was subsiding, inflation has risen to its highest rate since March 1992 – hitting 5.5 percent in January 2022. The Bank of England has projected that inflation will hit 7 percent by the spring. From freight rates to oil to furniture and groceries, prices are increasing dramatically. Many [...]
The City View: Victoria Scholar on rising prices, unemployment and retail sales data; and XR cause Lloyd’s of London HQ shutdown April 12, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at Interactive Investor. They go through some of the week’s economics data on GDP, unemployment, retail sales, and talk trading updates. They discuss the latest from ASOS, Deliveroo, and EasyJet: ASOS is facing a raft of headwinds, as investors lose confidence in the online retailer; [...]
Unemployment drops further as UK pay falls for second month in a row amid inflation frenzy April 12, 2022 According to the Office for National Statistics, unemployment fell yet again to 3.8 per cent in February, down from 3.9 per cent. The UK employment rate was largely unchanged on the quarter at 75.5 per cent, but still sat below pre-Covid pandemic levels. The ONS’ estimate of payrolled employees for March 2022 shows a small [...]
Retail sales slow as consumer confidence now lower than horsemeat scandal April 12, 2022 Retail sales slowed last month as consumer confidence has taken a hit as shoppers feel the bite of rising cost inflation. According to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG, sales increased by 3.1 per cent in March. This was worse than a three-month average growth of 6.9 per cent. What’s more, retail [...]
M&S cut prices on a range of items as shoppers face cost of living crunch April 11, 2022 Marks & Spencer has slashed prices on some core grocery items as it hopes to woo shoppers amid rising costs. Supermarkets are endeavouring to maintain their market shares while shoppers have flocked to discount retailers to mitigate the cost of living crunch in recent weeks. M&S revealed on Monday that it had lowered prices on [...]