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With the sun now shining we are expecting a light at the end of this gloomy tunnel, but for now, we’re still seeing what seem to be almost weekly reports of another CVA. Coupled with the Beast from the East hitting footfall and retail sales harder than expected, and retail profit warnings rocketing to a seven-year high in the first three-months of the year, that light still seems some way off.
Amongst the doom and gloom, there is some better or interesting news if you look hard enough for it.
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Consumer confidence grew in March, thanks to overall economic growth and prospects of wage increases “finally” outstripping inflation. Overall shopper sentiment climbed three points to -7 this month, according to GfK data
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Amazon is now the fifth biggest retailer in the UK accounting for £4 in every £100 spent in retail in the UK last year
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Savills research has found overseas expansion of luxury brands spurred on Europe’s leasing activity in the global luxury retail market, with London and Paris leading the way. US retailers with aggressive expansion programmes were behind the growth, up from 36% in 2006 to 38% in 2018
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The Future of Fulfilment Vision Study from Zebra Technologies forecasts that same-day delivery will be the norm by 2023, and also suggests a significant minority foresee two-hour delivery by 2028
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There was a net increase of 16 bakery stores in 2017, with 76 sites opening and 60 closing. Cafes and tearooms recorded one of the strongest performances, with a net increase of 30 stores
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Restaurants and pubs continued to outshine other sectors in March with year-on-year growth rising by 7.2% and 7.7% respectively according to Barclaycard data
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European consumers spent 4.4% more on groceries in the last quarter of 2017, making it the biggest increase in six years, according to new figures from Nielsen. whose retail performance data figures covered 21 European countries
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Online retail sales made via smartphones grew 18.9% year-on-year in December 2017, while sales on the device increased from 36% to 41% between 2016 and 2017. In contrast, the research from online retailer Mobiles.co.uk found desktop orders fell from 47% to 45% year-on-year in December 2017 and tablet sales decreased from 17% to 14% during the same period
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