Retail Economics provide regular insights on UK retailing. Browse our extensive archive for insights on topics such as: Brexit, online retail developments, ONS Consumer Price Index, the outlook for UK retail, consumer sentiments and much more…
Key data for June 2019:
Visa's UK Consumer Spending Index recorded the weakest first half since 2012, with expenditure down by 1.1% in H1 compared to last year. The index declined for a ninth month in June, down by 1.4% year-on-year, which is unchanged from May.
Spending... read more
Retail sales (value, non-seasonally adjusted, excluding fuel) rose by 4.0% year-on-year in June 2019, according to the latest figures from the ONS. This is up on the 1.9% rise in the previous month, but slightly down on the 4.5% rise in June 2018.
In volume terms, retail sales rose by 3.6% on last year (se... read more
The headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.0% in June, year-on-year, unchanged from the previous month and in line with expectations.
The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) 12-month inflation also held steady, rising 1.9%, year-on-year.
Meanwhile, both... read more
The latest labour market data from the ONS showed the number of people in work continued to increase in the three months to May, while the number of unemployed people and the number of people aged from 16 to 64 years not working and not seeking nor available to work (economically inactive) both fell compared to the... read more
UK gross domestic product (GDP) returned to growth in May, up by 0.3% month-on-month, as production picked up again. The bounce back followed the temporary shutdown of car factories ahead of the UK’s original EU departure date, which contributed to a 0.4% contraction in GDP in April.
Monthly GDP for... read more
GDP rose by 0.5% in Q1 2019 from the previous quarter, unrevised from the previous estimate. This followed a 0.2% rise in Q4 2018.
Compared with the same quarter a year ago, the UK economy grew by 1.8%, improving on the 1.4% rise in the previous quarter.
GDP was estimated to have increased 1.4% i... read more
House price growth continued to accelerate in May according to the latest data from the Halifax, up 5.2% (quarterly, non-seasonally adjusted, year-on-year). This is against a weak comparison a year earlier when house prices rose 1.9%. On a month-on-month basis, house prices rose 0.5%, slowing on April’s monthl... read more
GDP accelerated by 0.5% in Q1 2019 compared to the previous quarter, driven by a strong boost in manufacturing output as companies stockpiled ahead of the original Brexit deadline.
Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, GDP rose by a robust 1.8% in Q1 2019. Meanwhile, GDP per head rose by 0.4% in t... read more
Retail Economics attended Retail Week Live 2019 recently, with chief executive Richard Lim chairing the General Counsel day. Retail leaders gathered to discuss how to grapple the pressures facing retail. We reflect on the key themes discussed by retailers at the two-day event.
Reinvention to remain... read more
The debate and votes in the House of Commons yesterday gave no new certainty to the Brexit process, but they did increase the chances of a disorderly withdrawal from the EU on 29 March.
A majority of MPs voted in favour of an amendment by Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservatives 1922 Committee of ba... read more
The need for UK retailers to be ‘Brexit-ready’ is becoming ever more urgent.
On 24 October 2018, Squire Patton Boggs and Retail Economics hosted more than 50 meetings between the UK’s leading retailers and Brexit and trade experts. Throughout the meetings, it became apparent that retailer... read more
Levels of interest in Black Friday appear to have risen modestly on the previous year. However, our research suggests that consumers will make more considered purchases that appear more planned than in previous years. While most consumers think that discounts will be about the same or worse than last year, there has... read more
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.4% on the previous year in October, unchanged from the previous month. This was below the consensus view, with expectations of inflation rising to 2.5%.
The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) 12-month inflation also remained unc... read more
The latest labour market data from the ONS showed the number of people in work and the number of unemployed people both increased but the number of people aged from 16 to 64 years not working and not seeking nor available to work (economically inactive) was little changed.
The unemployment rate stood at 4.... read more
GDP rose by 0.6% in Q3 2018 from the previous quarter, in line with the consensus view and the Bank of England’s estimate published in their latest Inflation Report. This is the strongest rise on a quarterly basis since the final quarter of 2016.
Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, GDP gre... read more
