Are consumers returning to old spending habits?
Today's news that sales are up 11% at high-class supermarket Waitrose would suggest that UK consumers are now moving away from the recessionary phase of food purchasing. Slowly but surely it seems that customers are now moving away from the so-called value products and moving back to the items on their shopping lists before the recession began. So how will this affect the UK supermarket sector?
There is no doubt that the likes of William Morrison and some of the more basic food retailers in the UK have benefited from the recession which has seen many customers downgrade their weekly shopping list. However, the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda, while maintaining their high-value product lists, have also entered the value sector thereby covering themselves whatever future spending patterns reveal.
Whether or not the growth phase is well and truly over for some of the more value food retailers remains to be seen but as the UK economy starts to pick up it is likely that Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda will perhaps benefit more than the others. However, with life remaining very tough on the high street, consumers will still be chasing bargains and demanding value for money for the foreseeable future.
Share this..
Related stories
So Who Is Buying All Of The Oil On Offer?
Over the last few months we have seen the price of oil go through the roof, we have seen airlines reduce their flight numbers and more and more companies experiencing severe financial pressure, but who is actually buying all of the oil on the market? Who is sitting on the reserves which are definitely there?
While the newspapers are full of stories about oil shortages and the curren...
Northern Rock savers to lose savings guarantee
Northern Rock savers will lose their 100% guarantee in May as the UK government readies the company for a return to the private sector. This 100% guarantee on savings with the company was introduced at the height of the financial crisis when savers were literally queuing for miles to withdraw their money from Northern Rock branches. In reality Northern Rock is now a far stronger company than it...
Read More48,000 use governments Help to Buy scheme
03/09/2014 More than 48,000 people have bought a home through the governments Help to Buy scheme since it started. The scheme which, was introduced by the government in October 2013, helps consumers buy a home with a deposit of 5% of the purchase price, and the guarantee is provided to the mortgage lender by the government, not the consumer. According to the figures, from a total of 48,...
Read MoreShopping around for the best credit card rate
Over the last few weeks the headlines in the credit card industry have been fairly downbeat with the vast majority of credit card companies increasing their rates over the last few months. However, we are starting to see signs, albeit few and far between at the moment, of credit card companies trimming some of their rates for specific areas of the credit card market. While this is unlikely to turn...
Read MoreRyanair responds to EU directive regarding hidden charges
As we covered in one of our recent posts, Ryanair was looking at potential fines and penalties from the EU with regards to so-called hidden charges on the company's website. However, after a discussion with the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) Ryanair has today agreed to make its charging structure more transparent and easier to understand.
The issue recently came to a head after a f...