Consumer Confidence
Consumer confidence directly impacts the UK jewellery trade, influencing spending on luxury items and shaping retail performance. For jewellers, suppliers, and manufacturers, tracking shifts in consumer sentiment is vital for forecasting demand, planning inventory, and refining marketing strategies. Jewellery Focus delivers expert coverage on consumer confidence trends, market analysis, and insights into how economic and social factors affect purchasing behaviour across the sector.
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Jun- 2025 -5 JuneEconomy
Consumer confidence hasn’t recovered since Brexit vote, Barclays finds
Consumer confidence reached its highest point in the past 10 years in September 2016, at 48%, just after the Brexit referendum, according to Barclays’ “10 Years of Spend” report. Barclays has been tracking consumer confidence monthly since 2015 and also surveyed 2000 people in the UK for the report, which…
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Apr- 2025 -15 AprilRetailers
UK sales increase 1.1% in March thanks to good weather boost
UK Total retail sales increased by 1.1% year on year in March, against a growth of 3.5% in March 2024, with gardening and DIY sales being boosted by good weather. New data from the BRC and KPMG revealed that the increase was below the 3-month average growth of 1.6% and…
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Feb- 2025 -24 FebruaryManufacturers
De Beers launches DiamondProof in stores
De Beers has announced the launch of its diamond verification device, DiamondProof, in select retail stores. The device, which can distinguish natural diamonds from non-natural diamonds, will also be available in a number of independent retail outlets. The first DiamondProof prototype instrument was unveiled at the JCK show in Las…
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20 FebruaryEconomy
UK consumer confidence drops to new low in February
UK consumer confidence slipped to a new low of -37 in February, amid the worsening state of the economy. According to the latest BRC-Opinium Consumer Sentiment Monitor, the economy worsened for the fifth consecutive month, down from -34 in January. The BRC reported that even Gen Z, despite being the…
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6 FebruaryEconomy
BoE cuts interest rates to 4.5%
The Bank of England (BoE) has voted to cut interest rates from 4.75% to 4.5%, the lowest level since June 2023, but warned that GDP growth has been “weaker than expected”. At its meeting this week, the bank’s monetary policy committee voted by a majority of 7–2 to reduce the…
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Jan- 2025 -7 JanuaryEconomy
BRC warns of 2025 falling sales volume despite December sales growth
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned of possible falling sales volume in 2025 despite the modest increase in total retail sales experienced in December 2024. UK total retail sales in December 2024 increased by 3.2% year on year, against a growth of 1.9% in December 2023, according to new…
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Oct- 2024 -22 OctoberManufacturers
De Beers to provide country of origin data for its diamonds
De Beers Group has announced that it will provide data on country of origin for all De Beers-sourced rough diamonds above 1.25 carats that are newly registered on the Tracr platform, the digital platform for tracing natural diamonds from source at scale. From the start of 2025, this will be…
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Jun- 2024 -4 JuneRetailers
UK sales slightly increase by 0.7% in May
UK total retail sales increased by 0.7% year on year in May, against a growth of 3.9% in May 2023. This was above the 3-month average growth of 0.3% and below the 12-month average growth of 2.0%. Food sales increased 3.6% year on year over the three months to May,…
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Apr- 2024 -23 AprilTrade Organisations
The NAJ launches Codes of Practice for whole UK industry
The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) has announced that its Codes of Practice are now available to all jewellery businesses in the UK, irrespective of whether they are a member of the association or not. In 2022, the NAJ launched its strategy centred around compliance, profitability, and responsibility. This strategy…
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Feb- 2024 -23 FebruaryRetailers
Consumer confidence falls in February
UK consumer confidence dropped two points in February to -21, according to GfK’s long-running index. The survey revealed that four measures were down and one was unchanged in comparison to last month’s announcement. The index measuring changes in personal finances during the last year was down two points at -14.…
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