subscribe to the RSS feed

‘High street spend’ category

Dec 20 2007

Eight in ten shoppers claim to be savvy

More than eight in ten consumers say they are "savvy shoppers" who look for sale items, use money off vouchers and surf the internet for bargains, according to a report.

The research by PayPal, also showed that less than half of shoppers in the UK do research before buying a product.

Cristina Hoole, shopping expert at PayPal, said: "Christmas is usually an expensive time for all of us, so it's encouraging to see people get smarter about shopping and use money saving tips. Pre-planning who you are going to buy for and setting a budget are essential elements to ensure that you don't regret it in January!"

Shoppers in Scotland are worse at sticking to their budgets than any other area of the UK, according to the report. Consumers in the south of England were the best at budgeting.

A report by Ernst & Young recently revealed that price cuts in the UK over the Christmas period have been more severe than last year.


© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

Dec 13 2007

Last minute shoppers ‘go over budget’

People in Britain who leave their Christmas shopping to the last minute are more likely to go over budget, according to a report.

The research by Egg shows that late Christmas shoppers will go £594 million over budget this year.

Alison Wright, chief marketing officer at Egg, said: "Each year we get 12 months advance warning that Christmas is coming, but still often resort to last minute panic buying. Consumers need to try to find ways to drive down the overall cost of Christmas – one way seems to be by avoiding those last minute shopping sprees, when lack of choice and panic buying are rife."

Christmas Eve shoppers are four times more likely to buy an unwanted present, according to the research. Each last minute shopper will spend 39 per cent more than they budgeted.

Data which monitors cash machine withdrawals has indicated that there will be strong spending at retailers this Christmas, according to research by Link.


© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

Nov 25 2007

Christmas shoppers set to be hit by credit crunch

Christmas shoppers could have their festive spending restricted because of the credit crunch, according to a report.

The research, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said that consumers who want to borrow more money over Christmas could be rejected for new credit card applications.

Richard Thompson of PwC said: "Banks are continuing to take action in response to the rise in consumer debt by tightening their credit acceptance policies. Many consumers will find it increasingly difficult to obtain credit in the run-up to Christmas."

Lenders will also be affected by the credit crunch. Credit card companies have suffered a drop in profits of £4 billion since 2000, according to a report by Precious Plastic 2008.

Meanwhile a report by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed that sales of Christmas goods in Wales are still expected to rise by five per cent this year to £12 billion.

The Western Mail reports that according to the BRC people in Wales are set to spend 12 per cent more each on gifts at Christmas this year.


© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

Nov 14 2007

Retail sales drop for the first time in ten months

Retail sales have dropped for the first time since January, according to statistics released today.

The Office for National Statistics report showed that October sales dropped by 0.1 per cent.

The news reinforced rumours that the Bank of England will lower interest rates before February.

The most significant falls came from clothing and food stores, where custom dropped by 0.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively.

According to the Times these decreases can be attributed to mild weather and escalating food costs.

However there are suggestions that sales may pick up before December. Paul Dales of Capital Economics said: "Sales growth could yet rebound for the all-important Christmas period, and any suggestions that activity on the high street is about to fall off a cliff would seem a little premature."

Lisa Dillion, director of retail at Ernst and Young, added that given the current economic climate it would not be surprising to see retailers bringing forward sales and discounting products.

Recently high street store Next blamed increasing mortgage repayments for falling sales throughout the autumn.



© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

Nov 11 2007

Online sales set to reach £162 billion by 2020

Consumers will be spending £162 billion a year online by 2020 according to uSwitch.com.

The price comparison website's statistics show online sales are set to reach £40 billion this year, with £14 billion being spent in the run up to Christmas.

Steve Weller, head of communications services for uSwitch said: "Not only does shopping online save you time and money, but it can actually pay for itself. Each household can save £500 which pays for your annual broadband cost nearly three times over.

"Over the last five years broadband prices have halved while speeds have gone up, making it cheaper and simpler for consumers to log on instead of going out to the shops."

Consumers can save approximately 13 per cent shopping on line, with the most significant savings being made on service goods such as broadband or leisure activities and holidays.

In total 13.5 million people are logging on to shop each day, spending ten per cent of their annual shopping bill. The most popular things to buy include holidays, music and films.

With 75 per cent of people having access to broadband internet, Britain has the highest rate of internet shopping in Europe.


© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

Nov 08 2007

UK ‘unwilling to spend’

The British public's willingness to spend money fell to its lowest level this year in October, research from Nationwide has concluded.

The UK consumer confidence index fell by one point, the building society said, while and index of consumers' willingness to spend fell eight points.

High interest rates, which were left at 5.75 per cent by the Bank of England earlier this week, and the continued effect of the credit crunch are being blamed for the falls.

However, Nationwide chief economist Fionnuala Earley, said that reluctance to spend on the high street was not being reflected in other financial attitudes.

"Consumer's confidence seems, so far, to have remained resilient in the face of the recent highly visible upset in the financial markets," she said.

"While there is a continued reluctance to spend, the credit crunch has not had a sharp effect on overall consumer sentiment with consumers still very happy about the prospects in the labour market and for household finances."


© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

Oct 25 2007

Brits should get saving for Christmas

Many Britons could be in for a frugal November as they prepare for the most expensive month of the year.

Research by the personal finance website fool.co.uk has revealed that, on average, Brits will spend a third of their December pay packet on Christmas presents.

While many will make up any shortfall by using their credit cards, others will need to get saving next month in preparation.

Fool.co.uk found that the average present budget is £400 or £27 per present. Most people would prefer their relatives to spend less on them, while 40 per cent would like to rein in their own spending to around £200.

“Christmas season can be a time of financial pressure for many, especially for people with large families," said David Kuo, of fool.co.uk.

“What’s more, spending two per cent of our annual income on one day’s jollies can give our finances a proper stuffing unless we have budgeted for it carefully.

"So if you know you like a lavish Christmas, you should start saving long before you shop," he added.

Rising interest rates this year have squeezed household budgets, but recent retail activity suggests consumers are not quite ready to tighten their belts.


© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

Sep 19 2007

ONS: High Street spending up for August

Retail sales went up last month as sales and heavy discounts helped bring shoppers back to the high street, new data has shown.

Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show that sales increased by 0.6 per cent for August, or 4.9 per cent over the year.

Largest increases in spending occurred in non-food stores such as clothing and footwear, which grew 1.6 per cent for August. Food stores increased by 1.3 per cent, which marks the largest increase in the sector since June 2006.

The biggest decrease occurred in household goods stores, where spending fell by 2.5 per cent.

Laurent Sauron, an economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, told the BBC: "Our view is that the official retail sales data is riding high just before the fall.

"The extent of the decline in sales of household goods last month is likely to be reflective to the wider retail trend in September."

These figures come ahead of the Bank of England's October interest rate decision, which is due next week.

Some analysts are predicting a cut following the US Federal Reserve's decision to slash 0.5 per cent of its base rate earlier this week.



© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

Sep 10 2007

Retailers worried over high street spending

Rising interest rates and wet weather have got major retailers worried about high street spending this year.

Leading clothing chains, French Connection and Next, are just two of the companies who are concerned, reports BBC.co.uk.

"We remain cautious about the outlook for the UK consumer", Next said in a statement.

"We are acutely aware that the full effect of recent interest rate rises has not yet filtered through to our customers," it added.

French Connection reported losses for the six months up to the end of July, although it did manage to narrow the deficit from £3.6 million to £2.5 million.
While several firms are still cautious about the situation on the high street, some are reporting encouraging figures.

Marks & Spencer has reported same-store revenue gains for almost two years, while Next's results for the first half of 2007 saw profits before tax up 11 per cent, to £198.2 million.

Meanwhile, Next is being pro-active in getting shoppers to spend again by remodelling outlets and by expanding the Next Directory catalogue.


© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

Aug 27 2007

Capital’s high street spend up 11%

Increased spending from tourists helped London to buck the downturn in high street sales during July, new figures have revealed.

Sales in London were up 11.6 per cent during the month compared with the same period last year, according to figures from the London Retail Consortium (LRC).

This compares with a rise of just 3.1 per cent for the rest of the country.

The disparity in high street spending growth is attributed to the influx of wealthy visitors from the Middle East holidaying in London and spending profusely.

Kevin Hawkins of the LRC told the Evening Standard: 'Tourism continues to widen the gap between booming sales growth in London and the declining trend elsewhere.

Meanwhile, heavy discounting and the fact that London was not hit as badly by the recent downpours is also deemed to have helped the capital to its improved performance.

Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, said: "Given London was not so badly affected as other parts of the country by the poor weather in July, it is no surprise that central London outperformed the rest of the UK."


© Adfero Ltd

Posted in High street spend

« Previous