The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today announced retail sales saw a slight improvement in September According to the BRC/KPMG retail sales monitor, like-for-like sales (which exclude the impact of sales at new stores) rose 0.3% on an annual basis. However, clothing sales suffered while demand for big-ticket items remained weak due to fragile consumer [...]
There is a mixed bag of retail sales figures today after Home Retail Group announced a drop in sales at both its Argos and Homebase chains. The figures are further evidence of a cutback in consumer spending after electrical goods group, Dixons Retail, yesterday posted a fall in sales. At Argos, like-for-like sales in the [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today reported weak retail sales for August. According to the BRC, like-for-like sales (which exclude the impact of sales at new stores) fell 0.6% last month on an annual basis. Overall sales rose 1.5%, however, this was much lower than the 2.8% rise noted in August 2010. Commenting, Stephen [...]
A snapshot survey of retailers hit by the riots two weeks ago found that across 899 stores retailers lost over 7,500 hours of trading and reported more than 11,000 members of staff affected by the violence. However, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) expects the damage to the sector as a whole to be “considerably higher” [...]
The vacancy rate for shops across Britain’s High Streets and shopping centres stands at over 11%, according to new research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Northern Ireland (17.1%), Wales (13.4%) and the North and Yorkshire (13.1%) recorded the highest vacancy rates, as overall footfall between May and July 2011 fell 1% compared with a [...]
The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) latest consumer confidence survey has revealed how consumer shopping habits have changed due to the Government spending cuts and the rise in the cost of living. According to the survey released by the BRC and Nielsen, almost one third of those questioned feel that they have no cash left over [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that the riots will cause significant harm to British businesses as they count the costs of stolen and damaged goods. The weekend riots in London have already spread to other parts of the UK and the BRC warned that retailers of all sizes had suffered damage. Prime Minister [...]
Retail sales rose in July but conditions remain challenging as households continue to be squeezed by higher inflation and rising unemployment. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, like-for-like sales rose 0.6% last month on an annual basis. On a total basis, meanwhile, sales were 2.5% higher, against a 2.6% increase in [...]
Retail sales fell in June as households continue to be squeezed by higher inflation and rising unemployment. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, sales fell by 0.6% on an underlying basis last month, while total sales (including VAT) rose 1.5%. Food sales growth eased a little last month but a strong [...]
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), shop price inflation rose in June on the back of growing food prices. The BRC said shop price inflation surged to its highest rate since October 2008 in June. Higher petrol and commodity costs lifted shop prices to 2.9% in June from 2.3% in May while food inflation [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today reported a fall in credit card usage as consumers look to cash and debit cards for their purchases. According to a survey by the BRC, which represents 90% of the UK’s stores, shoppers are opting to use their debit cards and cash to avoid borrowing. However, the number [...]
Higher inflation has led to a fall in retail sales for the month of May, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) today. The fall was also attributed to consumers overspending in April due to the long bank holiday weekends and hot weather. The BRC said annual like-for-like retail sales fell by 2.1% in May [...]
The long bank holiday weekends and sunny weather has led to a surge in retail sales for the month of April, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) today. The BRC said retail sales grew 5.2% last month due to the late Easter holidays, hot weather and Royal Wedding, with clothing, barbecue food, champagne and [...]
Retail sales fell sharply last month – providing further evidence of a fragile economic recovery. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, total sales fell by 1.9% on an annual basis – the worst fall since the series started in 1995. The trade body attributed the fall to the ongoing squeeze on [...]
Retail sales fell last month – providing further evidence of a fragile economic recovery. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, like-for-like sales fell 0.4% in February on an annual basis after a 2.3% rise in January. The trade body attributed the fall to the ongoing squeeze on household incomes as fears [...]
Retail sales recovered in January after the heavy snowfall in December knocked sales. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, like-for-like retail sales grew by 2.3% in January on an annual basis – the best showing since March 2010. Total sales increased 4.2%, up from 1.5% in December. However, the BRC highlights [...]
The UK’s biggest retailers are currently reporting their Christmas trading figures, and it has been a mixed bag so far. Today, British retailing giant Marks and Spencer (M&S) said sales in the final quarter of 2010 were up despite the heavy snowfall which gripped much of the country last month. The 127-year-old retailer which sells [...]
The heavy snowfall which gripped most of the country last month was expected to impact negatively on retail sales. However, retail sales fell just 0.3% on a like-for-like basis, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor. However, total sales rose 1.5% against 6% growth the previous year – a sharp drop but [...]
The rate of VAT will today rise from 17.5% to 20% as the Government looks to raise billions of pounds in order to trim the UK’s budget deficit. While many are prepared for the increase, retail sales are expected to be hit as consumers are expected to cut back on their spending over the coming [...]
According to experts, the forthcoming VAT hike will have resulted in the purchase of big-ticket items – boosting retail sales in December and the first few days of January. However, the VAT rise from 17.5% to 20%, which kicks in tomorrow, is expected to mean consumers will cut back on their spending over the coming [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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