Retailers expect 2015 to be yet another year of falling prices January 6, 2015 Britain’s retailers expect shop prices to continue to fall throughout this year, having dipped during every month of 2014. Together with falling energy costs, lower prices in the UK’s shops would put more downward pressure on inflation. As a consequence, real wages are expected to rise further, and the Bank of England could be tempted [...]
Inflation report to give clues on rate hike date – London Report February 8, 2015 THE BANK of England’s quarterly inflation report is this week expected to offer an insight into whether historically-low interest rates will be increased this year or next. Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said: “The Bank of England will obviously have to cut its near-term inflation forecasts sharply given that consumer price inflation fell sharply [...]
Inflation falling after price wars over Christmas – London week ahead January 11, 2015 CONSUMER price inflation figures for December, due out tomorrow, will shine a light on to what extent falling oil prices and intense retail competition have boosted spending power in the UK. Analysts says the fall in inflation is likely to have been tempered by the fact that there was more retail discounting than usual in [...]
Retail data to show UK spending boost from Black Friday – London Report December 7, 2014 Black Friday is expected to have added a healthy boost to November’s retail sales, which the British Retail Consortium is due to announce tomorrow. Howard Archer, of Global IHS Insight, said: “While consumers are always keen to take advantage of bargains, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, the desire for bargains has undoubtedly been heightened [...]
Retailers cheer at review into business rates December 3, 2014 RETAILERS welcomed plans for a full review of the UK’s 400 year-old business rates system, seen by the industry as one of the biggest threats to the future of businesses on the high street. Businesses have long called for a reform of rates, which are charged on commercial properties including shops and calculated according to [...]
Food prices fall for first time in almost 10 years December 2, 2014 Britons had reason to cheer last month as food prices fell, while real wages rose for the first time in five years, according to an index of retailers out today. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen said food prices fell by 0.2 per cent year-on-year in November – the first decline since the firms’ [...]
Retailers dealt double blow as shops empty and footfall dips November 16, 2014 Retailers were dealt a double blow in October as fewer people headed for the high street and the number of empty shops increased. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard revealed this morning that the vacancy rate in UK town centres rose to 10.3 per cent in October, an increase from July’s rate of 10.1 [...]
Black Friday UK 2014: Retailers return to black after a frenzied day of spending December 8, 2014 The shopping frenzy created by Black Friday last week helped push retail sales back into growth in November as shoppers flocked online and into stores to snap up a bargain. Like-for-like retail sales rose by 0.9 per cent compared with November last year, when they increased by 0.6 per cent. This was also an improvement [...]
Fresh food price drop set to help Christmas budgets go further November 4, 2014 Prices in shops continued to drop in October, with food inflation reaching a record low. Figures released today for the shop price index compiled by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and market analysts Nielsen show that shop prices fell by 1.9 per cent year-on-year in October. Food inflation fell to 0.1 per cent, the lowest [...]
Retail jobs declining as pressure mounts on supermarket sector October 22, 2014 The number of staff per store on the high street slumped to a record low in the third quarter of the year, as troubled supermarkets overhauled their management structures to reverse sliding sales. The equivalent number of full-time jobs fell by 1.3 per cent between July and September, even as the number of stores increased [...]