01 July 2022

The British Retail Consortium has released a report on trading conditions, consumer demand, and how the UK economy is performing

Key takeaways:

  • GDP growth contracted by 0.3% in April, following a slight decline of 0.1% in March. Services was the main contributor to the decline in the most recent reporting period.
  • Inflation has reached its highest since the early 1980s with the Consumer Price Index hitting 9.1%, which is around 2% below where the Bank of England see it peaking in 2022 Q4
  • In May, retail sales  fell by 1.1% year-on-year, a further contraction following April’s -0.3% growth
  • The UK economic inactivity rate was estimated at 21.3%, 0.1 percentage points lower than the previous quarter, and 1.0 percentage point higher than before the coronavirus pandemic.

Bira CEO, Andrew Goodacre said: "This report confirms what we already know – 2022 is going to be a difficult year for retailers large and small. Some sectors – notably clothing – have done better than others, but overall expenditure is down and consumer confidence is at an all-time low. Bira will be calling on the government to do more to directly support businesses on the high street."

Download the report here

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