Consumer Spending
Consumer spending trends are a key indicator for the UK jewellery trade, shaping demand across luxury, mid-market, and fashion segments. For jewellers, designers, and suppliers, understanding shifts in disposable income, purchasing behaviour, and economic confidence is critical to planning collections, pricing strategies, and marketing campaigns. Jewellery Focus provides expert coverage on consumer spending patterns, market analysis, and economic insights to help trade professionals navigate changing customer priorities and maximise commercial opportunities.
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Jun- 2015 -10 JuneEditor's Blog
Who are we supposed to believe when the figures are so discrepant?
I don’t know about you, but, being a journalist, I don’t like being forced to have a stab in the dark where really important information is concerned. You wouldn’t guess your profit, you don’t guess how much you’ve sold this month. Can someone tell me, then, how it can be…
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10 JuneEconomy
Consumer spending up 4.2%, says Barclaycard
Consumer spending in the UK rose 4.2% in May amid falling prices combined with greater confidence. According to the latest monthly spend data analysis by Barclaycard, falling prices in supermarkets helped families boost spending on ‘nonessential’ items, which grew by 6.2% over the period. Barclaycard said that by spending less…
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3 JuneRetailers
Shop prices fall for 25th consecutive month
Shop prices were down 1.9% in May compared with the same time last year – unchanged from April’s rate of decline. This is according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen Shop Price Index which recorded its 25th consecutive month of shop price deflation, with falling non-food prices now…
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Apr- 2015 -16 AprilWatch Focus
One in ten consumers considering smartwatch purchase
One in 10 consumers (10%) is considering buying a smartwatch in 2015, according to the Barclaycard Consumer Spending Report for Q1 of this year. The figures suggest several million smartwatch sales could take place throughout the UK this year, yet demand could outstrip supply as only 28 million are expected…
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Mar- 2015 -9 MarchEconomy
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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Dec- 2014 -8 DecemberEconomy
Hallmarking set to top 10m items for first time in three years
The total number of hallmarked items is set to top 10 million for the first time since 2011, the latest data from the four UK assay offices suggests. Overall hallmarking figures, collated by the Assay Office Birmingham, dropped by 7.8% in November compared with the same period last year, mainly…
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May- 2014 -2 MayAnalysis
FEATURE: The End of the Gold Rush
The gold price has stabilised, and the slump in gold hallmarking has bottomed out. And now that the commodity traders are losing interest, MICHAEL NORTHCOTT asks whether the scrap-buying craze has caused any lasting change to the market. Two very significant trends have appeared that will likely have a profound…
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Apr- 2014 -28 AprilEconomy
UK economic outlook ‘exceptionally strong’, says CBI
The CBI has announced that the economic outlook for the next three months is “exceptionally strong and broad-based”, and growth expectations are the strongest they have been since the body began recording data in 2003. Pointing specifically to the retail and service sectors, the CBI’s Growth Indicator, published today, said…
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Feb- 2013 -19 FebruaryEconomy
Retail business running costs up £20bn since 2006
A British Retail Consortium (BRC) commissioned study by Oxford Economics has revealed that retailers’ operating costs have increased by a fifth since 2006.
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19 FebruaryEconomy
Britain’s shop vacancy rates reduce in 2012
The shop vacancy rate average in Great Britain reduced during 2012, reports the Local Data Company’s (LDC).
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