Economists have today warned that the big freeze could hit the UK economy, impacting negatively on growth. In particular, retailers have been badly affected this weekend by a lack of shoppers, who opted to stay home due to the snow and ice. This weekend should have been the busiest of the year for retailers but [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is regarded as a barometer of British retailing, today revealed sales rose in the week to 18 December. The renowned employee-owned department store said sales grew 7% to £120.3 million, compared with the same period a year ago. However, this was down on the previous week’s record of £121 million. [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed some optimism among retailers for the Christmas period. Many believe the Christmas period will be no worse than last year – despite consumers being fearful of the Government’s spending cuts and unemployment. According to the BRC’s snapshot of 17 major retailers, which represents up to 51% of the [...]
According to the latest Confederation of British Industry (CBI) distributive trades survey, retailers are optimistic about the Christmas period but have expressed their concerns for 2011. Many retailers share the same fear for next year as Government spending cuts kick in and the VAT rise takes effect on 1 January. The CBI’s survey established that [...]
According to the latest CBI distributive trades survey, retailers are optimistic – particularly about the run-up to Christmas. This is deemed positive after many reports have suggested consumers will rein in their spending after the Government’s massive spending cuts. However, shoppers are expected to buy big-ticket items – ahead of the VAT rise which will [...]
A survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) today revealed shoppers hit the High Street in July, with sales increasing at the fastest pace in more than three years. According to the CBI’s monthly distributive trades survey, supermarkets, clothes and shoe shops received the most business as sales grew at the fastest rate since [...]
Fashion chain Next said it had a solid first quarter and is on track to meet full-year profit targets but added: “We remain very cautious in our outlook for the year ahead”. Its cautious statement comes as many other companies warn of slow consumer spending after the General Election as the new Government embarks on [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today revealed the High Street continued its recovery in March with UK retail sales rising at their fastest rate in almost four years. According to the BRC, the rise was boosted by Easter shopping as consumers stocked up on chocolate, food and drink for the Easter weekend. The BRC [...]
US consumer confidence took a dive in February after the closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board fell to a 10-month low of 46, down from a revised 56.5 in January. The index still remains far away from the 90 points required to show that the world’s largest economy is on solid footing. Furthermore, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed a disappointing performance for the High Street for the month of December. Official figures showed that UK retail sales rose by just 0.3% in December compared with the previous month. On an annual basis, sales were up 2.1% but both monthly and annual figures were lower [...]
Discount clothing retailer Primark joins other major retailers by announcing bumper sales over the festive period. Primark’s parent group, Associated British Foods, said the chain is benefiting from consumers opting for cheaper clothes with sales particularly strong in the UK and Spain. The group said: “Trading results for this period were very encouraging and ahead [...]
Peacocks, which operates more than 500 fashion stores across the UK, posted a 17% rise in like-for-like sales on last year’s levels in December and early January. Richard Kirk, chief executive, said it had experienced a “cracking Christmas as customers decided they were going to celebrate after a year of doom and gloom”. Meanwhile, the [...]
Department store chain House of Fraser is the latest retailer to report bumper Christmas sales after the company reported that like-for-like sales (which strip out gains from new stores) were 7.1% higher than 2008 levels. The group said it had enjoyed its best ever Christmas week and also saw a Boxing Day sales surge 27%. [...]
Fashion chain Next has today reported better than expected sales figures for the Christmas period. The fashion retailer Next said like-for-like sales at Next Retail were up 3.2% in the 22 weeks to Christmas Eve. Its mail order business, Next Directory, said sales increased by 6.8% compared with a year earlier. As a result, it [...]
Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), which has stakes in 14 regional shopping centres including the Manchester Arndale, Lakeside in Essex and the Gateshead MetroCentre, said despite the snowfall over the weekend, retailers experienced their busiest weekend of the year. Figures show that shoppers braved the weather after figures revealed that over seven million people have visited [...]
The use of the cheque book continues to decline as consumers opt for quicker payment methods. Major retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s no longer accept cheques, arguing that phasing out the use of cheques in stores resulted in quicker service and improved security for consumers. Under controversial plans being devised by bankers, the cheque [...]
Research from the Local Data Company (LDC) has revealed the tough times retailers have experienced during the economic downturn. The economic downturn has meant consumers have tightened their purse strings, having a devastating affect on trade. The iconic department store, Woolworths, collapsed under a mountain of debt at the end of last year, while other [...]
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) Distributive Trades Survey has revealed that consumers continue to cut back as retail sales were weak in June. According to the CBI, more retailers said sales had fallen rather than risen, giving a balance of – 17%. The figure was in line with analysts’ average forecast but well below [...]
Dedicated parents are sacrificing looking good in their own glad rags so they can kit out their kids in designer threads. Credit crunched mums and dads are reducing the amount they spend on their own clothes so their children can keep up with the latest fashion trends, new research has discovered. Parents are trading down [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has announced fears that yesterday was the toughest quarterly rents payments day for over 18 years. This is because the start of the year is usually the period where consumer spending is lowest and, coupled with the increased uncertainty caused by the credit crunch, the BRC has lead a campaign [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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