Economy
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Mar- 2015 -10 March
Retail sales edge up in February
UK retail sales increased by 0.2% in February on a like-for-like basis compared to the same time last year. This is according to the British Retail Consortium’s BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor which found on a total basis, sales were up 1.7%, against a 0.7% rise in February 2014. Adjusted for…
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9 March
Valentine’s Day sales increase in 2015
Jewellers benefitted from a strong Valentine’s Day as sales of jewellery were up 7.3% in February compared to the same month last year, according to new figures. This is according to Barclaycard’s monthly consumer spending index which shows that, following a slight dip at the start of the year, retailer…
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4 March
Shop prices continue to decline in February
Shop prices declined for the 22nd consecutive month in February, driven mainly by the falling prices of non-food items such as clothing and electrical goods. Figures released today by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and research body Nielsen show that shop price deflation accelerated to 1.7% in February, after falling…
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Feb- 2015 -27 February
Consumer confidence remains stable in February
Consumer confidence in the UK has remained stable in February as low inflations and rising wages made Britons more confident about their finances, according to new figures released today. This is according to Gfk’s latest Consumer Confidence Index, which found that consumer confidence remained at +1 during the month. The…
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23 February
CBI: Surprise dip in retail sales growth
Retail sales growth practically ground to a halt in February, according to the CBI’s latest quarterly Distributive Trades Survey. The survey of 138 firms including 62 retailers showed that both volume of retail sales and orders failed to meet expectations of growth in February, following six months of buoyant sales.…
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13 February
High Street footfall suffers against out-of-town shopping
Footfall on Britain’s high streets has declined yet further thanks to the rising popularity of out-of-town shopping complexes, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC/Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor found that town centre shopping malls reported the largest decline in footfall, falling 2.8% compared with the same time…
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12 February
Hallmarking figures drop in January
After a strong year of growth for hallmarking figures in 2014 the total number of articles hallmarked was down 7.6% in January 2015 compared to the same time last year. According to data from the four UK assay offices and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, there was a total…
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11 February
Fancy colour diamonds not affected by diamond price falls
Fancy colour diamonds are continuing to show consistent price levels, despite a backdrop of commodity value declines in Q4 2014. This is according to the first Fancy Color Diamond Index developed by the Fancy Color Research Foundation (The FCRF), which was launched in November last year. The index revealed that…
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10 February
January like-for-likes enjoy modest increase after ‘subdued’ December
January retail sales grew marginally despite a ‘subdued’ December, according to latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor found that total sales were up 1.6% compared with the same period last year, and above the 12 month average of 1.4%. However this represented a…
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5 February
LDC: Empty shops show North-South divide
The North-South divide is clearer than ever with the South having one in ten shops lying empty while the North has one in five, according to the Local Data Company (LDC). LDC, which analyses over 3,000 town centres, shopping centres and retail parks, said that despite the deepening regional divide,…
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