Pandemic spending habits settle to ‘new normal’ after online shopping boom March 8, 2022 Pandemic spending habits have “settled into a new normal” with people returning to bricks and mortar stores to ‘try before you buy’ last month. Total retail sales were up 4.9 per cent in February, compared to the same month in 2020, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG retail sales monitor. Sales continued [...]
FTSE 100 today: London markets to scale to new highs on growing rate cut bets, riding global rally wave May 7, 2024 Asian markets surged in line with Wall Street's positive trend, while oil prices rose after Israel's strike in Gaza. Gold prices also climbed amid geopolitical uncertainties. Australia's central bank holds the cash rate at 4.35 per cent. Investors are now focused on the Bank of England (BoE) policy decision and UK GDP data for further market cues.
Link chief John Howells on bank branch closures, payments and the battle for cash June 8, 2023 Link's chief John Howells says the nation can't "abandon" its cash users.
Retailers slam rocketing interchange fees as UK firms face £36.5m increase November 17, 2021 UK and European Economic Area (EEA) retailers are facing a cost increase of around £150m a year to accept cross-border card payments. UK businesses may be forced to take on an additional £36.5m, according to research by retail payments advisory firm CMSPI, alongside the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC has called on ministers and [...]
UK inflation tops 6 per cent as households call on Rishi Sunak for cost of living respite March 23, 2022 The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation marked the largest monthly increase since 2009 last month. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), CPI rose 0.8 per cent in February 2022 on a monthly basis. This was compared to a rise of just 0.1 per cent in February 2021. CPI rose 6.2 per [...]
Shop price inflation hits highest rate in more than decade amid cost of living crunch March 30, 2022 Shop price annual inflation has hit the highest rate since September 2011 as Brits face a cost of living crunch. According to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ, the metric hit 2.1 per cent in March. This was an increase from 1.8 per cent in February. Shoppers have flocked to discount retailers [...]
Petrol firms defend ‘nauseating prices’ as business minister implores retailers to pass on fuel duty cut May 17, 2022 Retailers have defended forecourt prices as politicians call for costs to be slashed after a fuel duty cut earlier this year. Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng has written to businesses to implore them to pass on the savings from a 5p per litre cut in fuel duty introduced in March. It comes after motoring group the [...]
Summer shoppers hesitant to return to high streets as footfall down 34% on pre-pandemic levels August 6, 2021 High street footfall in July was down by one third on the same month in 2019, before the pandemic, showing businesses still have a long way to go in rebuilding lost trade. High street footfall declined by 34.6 per cent in July compared to 2019, 1.2 percentage points below last month’s rate, according to data [...]
Further price rises loom over shoppers after Coca Cola and Unilever reveal hikes July 27, 2022 Shoppers are set to face further wounding price increases in the coming months, as some of the world’s largest consumer goods giants admit that more cost hikes will be passed on to shoppers. Retail chiefs have warned more price increases are on the way, with the British Retail Consortium (BRC)’s Helen Dickinson admitting households and [...]
London markets rebound as retailers lead FTSE 100 higher January 11, 2022 London markets rebounded from a poor day yesterday, led higher by investor sentiment toward retailers strengthening after a strong Christmas trading period. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index climbed 0.39 per cent to 7,474.07 points, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned to the health of the UK economy, added 0.59 per [...]