This is a trade facing website. Visit the ACT's consumer site thecyclingexperts.co.uk for information and advice on cycling and find your local independent cycle retailer.

Search News

Results: 31-40 of 901


28 Apr 2025

The Labour Government’s new Employment Rights Bill is set to be in force this year and the new regulations will impact high street retailers up and down the country.

25 Apr 2025

ACT parent company Bira welcomes the Chancellor's announcement of plans to create a level playing field for British businesses against unfair international trade practices.

15 Apr 2025

Retail Crime Remains Alarming - Bira's Latest Survey Reveals Urgent Need for Action

11 Apr 2025

Bira has cautiously welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement this week on plans to put 'thousands of Bobbies back on the Beat' with a new neighbourhood policing guarantee.

11 Apr 2025

Cycling UK has called for greater, targeted investment in cycling infrastructure across the UK to help more women feel safe and confident to cycle, with the charity urging Government to commit...

10 Apr 2025

Graeme Stickells, Head Trainer at South Africa’s only Cytech training centre Torq Zone Academy, is recovering from a life-threatening hit-and-run incident — and a crowdfunder has...

9 Apr 2025

Seven in ten cyclists in the UK have had their bike stolen, with the average cost of a stolen bike at £612.80 bringing the total estimated cost of thefts to £2.4 billion, according...

8 Apr 2025

MPs from multiple parties are pushing for Cycle to Work scheme to be expanded to include more people, including pensioners and freelancers, with the aim of encouraging more people to cycle.

2 Apr 2025

New regulations around recycling, known as ‘Simpler Recycling’, will soon require non-household municipal premises, including businesses, schools, and hospitals, to separate food...

2 Apr 2025

WorkNest has provided ACT members with essential resources covering statutory employment rates and the upcoming Employment Rights Bill, with the updates aimed at helping independent...

Back to news menu

Retail sales in March and April 'better than expected'

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

Retail sales in March and April 'better than expected', according to the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) Economic Briefing Report reported by IRC member BIRA.

The BRC Analysts' Q2 Forecasts for 2021 and 2022 Retail Sales and Prices is available to download from the Retail Insight and Analytics website.

Key points include:

  • We have revised our sales forecasts significantly compared to our Q1 projections. Both Food and Non-Food Sales were stronger in March and April than what we had expected in January, and we now expect higher spending for the following months than we did in Q1.
  • We now project Total Sales to increase by 5.9% (an upward revision from 1.2% projected in Q1), with Food sales rising by 2.0% (an upward revision of our Q1 forecast of 0.3%), and Non-Food sales increasing by 9.1% (an upward revision from our Q1 projection of 2.0%).
  • For 2022 we forecast Total Sales to decrease by 3.4%, with Food sales projected to fall by 1.0%, while Non-Food sales projected to decline by 5.4%.
  • We revised our Shop Prices forecasts for 2021: we now expect Food prices to rise by 1.1% (a downward revision from our Q1 forecast of 1.3%), but our expectation of the evolution of Non-Food prices has remained unchanged at -2.2%. This implies that overall Shop Prices would decrease by 1.1%, compared to our Q1 projection of -1.0%.
  • For 2022, our price forecasts are unchanged from our Q1 projections. We expect Food prices to rise by 2.0% and Non-Food prices to fall by 1.8%, which means that Shop Prices would fall by 0.5%.

In producing these forecasts, we have assumed that restrictions will lift according to the roadmap, that no another lockdown will be imposed and that the vaccination rollout will continue at pace.


 

 

Back to news menu

Useful links

If you have any other queries please contact us.