United Kingdom

The lack of arrivals to the UK at the time of the health crisis put car rentals in a precarious situation. Value sales of both business and leisure rentals recorded significant declines, although the former was hit somewhat harder than the latter. ...

Global advice against travel, alongside national restrictions, such as introducing 14 days of self-isolation for arrivals from most countries as of 8 June, have kept many tourists out, resulting in a strong decline in the number of arrivals. Outbound...

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the hotel industry hard in the UK. Consequently, occupancy rates have dropped dramatically, as have value sales. Hotels have attempted to attract tourists by offering more favourable prices, which has resulted in a ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed airlines in a precarious financial situation. Many airlines are on the verge of collapse due to a lack of cash, whilst others went bankrupt early on in parallel with the spread of the disease. For instance, Flybe Ltd,...

In 2020, travel flows have been globally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with arrivals to the UK recording a strong year-on-year decline in terms of both number of trips and retail value as a result. As in many countries, the UK imposed travel ...

The market for traditional travel agencies in the UK was disrupted even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. After struggling with structural difficulties, one of the leading UK travel agents, Thomas Cook, went into administration in September...

In Q3 2020, global economic activity levels remain significantly below normal. Under the baseline forecast the global economy is headed for the worst global recession since the great depression of the 1930s, with global output set to contract by 3-6%...

Non/low alcohol beer was again the fastest-growing category in beer, continuing to record strong double-digit total volume growth in 2019. It continued to benefit from the health megatrend, with consumers drinking less during the week and also ...

Sales of alcoholic drinks have naturally been heavily skewed by the fact that cafés, pubs and restaurants were all closed down for more than three months in the UK in the first half of 2020. It should also be noted that, while pubs in England ...

Wine sales were falling in 2019 after the duty rate was increased in February of that year, in spite of the beer and spirits duty rates being frozen. This most recent increase in duty on wine has led to the establishment of Wine Drinkers UK, an ...

Spirits recorded strong total volume growth in 2019. English gin, single grain and malt Scotch whiskies, bitters and dark spiced rum were among the best performers, while vodka and white rum were in decline. Millennials and Generation Z consumers are...

New fruit flavours (ie not apple or pear) have been instrumental in driving growth in the cider category over the review period. This has changed traditional regional consumption habits, as cider was mostly drunk in the southwest and southeast of ...

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is the harshest global crisis since World War II, and will have a long-lasting impact on economies around the world. Countries are entering historic recessions, public debt will skyrocket and labour markets will ...

COVID-19 had minimal net impact on consumer electronics, with volume growth of 2% expected to be recorded in 2020, slightly down on 2019 when growth of 3% was registered. On the positive side, demand for improved entertainment and communication ...

COVID-19 is having a minor net positive impact on wearables, with growth set to accelerate from 12% in 2019 to 13% in 2020. This is the result of a sharp uptick in activity wearables, and of little change in the established trend for smart wearables,...

2020 saw a slowing in the decline in volume sales compared to 2019, with sales aided slightly by the impact of lockdown. Smartphones have hit a point of saturation with most consumers already having switched from feature phones to smartphones, and ...

With sales of home video already suffering decline, the impact of COVID-19 is worsening the situation significantly, with overall sales expected to fall by 11% compared to 4% in 2019. While consumers have spent more time in their homes due to ...

COVID-19 is set to significantly slow growth in portable players, from 28% in 2019 to 13% in 2020, as many consumers opt out of purchases they consider to be unnecessary. However, the impact has varied considerably from product to product, with ...

Imaging devices have seen sliding volume sales for several years, but the impact of COVID-19 in 2020 dealt a huge blow to the industry, with sales expected to drop by 18% compared to 7% in 2019. With consumers unable to go on holiday, travel, eat out...

COVID-19 is forecast to have a strong positive impact on sales of computers and peripherals in 2020, with growth accelerating from a decline of 4% in 2019 to positive growth of 3%. Lockdown has forced many to work from home for the foreseeable ...