KPMG: UK households plan to splash the cash in 2025 Economics The positive picture from households contrasted with a more gloomy view about the state of the economy more broadly.
Retail sales rise unexpectedly despite Budget tax fears Economics Retail sales came in ahead of expectations.
Retailers pin hopes on bumper golden quarter with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas Business The final three months of the year, also known as the golden quarter, are make-or-break for retailers. Retail spending has consistently languished this year, or been propped up by margin-carving discounts, but pent-up demand is expected to give the sector a much-needed boost during the holidays, according to a panel of industry experts. Despite consumer [...]
Hospitality needs a magic spark of confidence to boom, brewery boss says October 10, 2024 The boss of Britain’s oldest brewer, Faversham-based Shepherd Neame, has suggested that the hospitality industry is nearly ready for a return to a boom period, but only is we serve up a spark of confidence. Neame suggested that if fundamentals remain strong and mortgages continue to fall, consumer spending on hospitality would follow a similar [...]
Pensioner pessimism drags on consumer confidence ahead of Budget October 9, 2024 Just one in six consumers think that the economy will improve over the next year while half think it will get worse, according to Which?
Business confidence ticks down ahead of Budget September 30, 2024 Business confidence dropped to a three-month low in September, in yet another sign of firms adapting to the sombre tone ahead of the Budget.
Labour conference: Reeves challenged over consumer ‘fear and foreboding’ September 23, 2024 Rachel Reeves has been challenged over claims the government has “generated a fear and foreboding” among consumers – but insisted she was “optimistic” about the economy. Ahead of her keynote speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool today, the Chancellor was challenged on Sky News over last week’s fall in consumer confidence to the [...]
‘Little luxuries’ and warm weather boost card spending September 3, 2024 The summer heatwave, along with the ‘sweet treat economy’ pushed card spending to return to growth in August, although it remained below consumer inflation. Card spending grew by one per cent in August, below the CPIH inflation rate of 3.1 per cent. Almost half of consumers said they continued to spend on small, luxury purchases [...]
Mortgage borrowing hits highest level in nearly two years August 30, 2024 The amount of mortgage debt Brits took on in July reached its highest level since November 2022 in another sign that consumer confidence is returning. Brits borrowed £2.8bn of mortgage debt in July, the highest since £.2bn in November 2022 and up from £2.6bn in June, according to the latest Money and Credit data from [...]
Consumer confidence unchanged in August despite worsening outlook August 23, 2024 Consumer confidence remained unchanged in August, a closely watched survey suggested, despite a deterioration in households’ expectations for the broader economy. GfK’s overall consumer confidence index remained at -13 with an improving picture on the personal finance side helping to offset worsening confidence in the economy as a whole. This meant overall consumer confidence remained [...]