United Kingdom

Instability is disrupting the United Kingdom’s (UK) political scene, whilst perceptions of corruption are eroding the public’s trust in governance. Extremely high inflation will negatively affect the economy through lower consumer spending in the…

According to a survey by HTA (Horticultural Trades Association) in June 2020, 2.9 million new gardeners were visibly active in the UK after the initial major lockdown. By August 2021, 2.3 million of these new gardeners were still visibly active (up…

Volume and value sales of depilatories fell in 2021. This built on the reductions already seen in 2020 and aligned with the overarching trend from the years preceding 2020, in terms of declines in both value and volume sales across all three…

Vending in the UK was significantly disrupted by the global health crisis in 2020. As most vending machines are located in transportation hubs, shopping centres, workplace sites, or canteens, the mobility restrictions and stay-at-home message had a…

Hypermarkets remained the largest grocery retail channel in value terms in the UK at the end of the review period. Although historically reaching maturity, hypermarkets were positively impacted by the pandemic, which yielded increasing sales in both…

Sales of athletic apparel were already growing pre-pandemic as a result of the broader casualisation trend popularised by millennials, as well as the health and wellness trend, which led to an increased interest in fitness, and the growing streetwear…

Sales of jeans in the UK suffered significant double-digit retail volume and current value declines in 2020 and into the early part of 2021, as lockdowns and social distancing led to store closures and home confinement for many consumers due to the…

A slight rebound in volume sales was seen for hosiery in 2021, after a poor performance in 2020, when demand fell drastically due to store closures and the shock of the first confinement. However, sales of hosiery are set to return to volume decline…

Headphones is set to experience another year of double-digit growth in both retail volume and current value terms in 2022. Current value growth is expected to be higher than volume, resulting primarily from inflationary pressures due to labour…

Retail volume and value sales of sunglasses continue to show signs of recovery in 2022, with value sales in particular predicted to record double-digit growth following strong declines in 2020 as a result of the pandemic and limited mobility.…

2021 was another year of growth for tobacco in the UK, with current value sales increasing across all categories. Cigarettes enjoyed a sizeable increase in current value growth, despite having already increased in 2020. Yet, it was volume sales which…

In 2022, retail volume sales of snacks are set to decline, due to the upcoming implementation of the HFSS regulation, which restricts the in-store and online presence of food products that are high in fat, sugar and salt in retailers above 2,000 sq…

RTDs was marked as a category to watch at the beginning of lockdowns. As on-trade establishments closed and the off-trade became the main channel, it was positioned to do especially well. RTDs have a small presence in the on-trade; they are mostly…

Volume sales of deodorants fell in 2021 when compared with 2020, which itself saw a decline compared with 2019. In fact, all deodorant categories declined yet again in volume terms in 2021. Little, if any, volume growth had been seen in the years…

The childrenswear category was less negatively affected by the pandemic than either menswear or womenswear in 2020. This was due to the necessity of buying children new clothing regularly as they grow. During the lockdowns, casual clothing, and…

Following sharp retail volume and current value declines in 2020, the gum category did not show any signs of recovery in 2021. On the one hand, sales of bubble gum managed to recover from the negative impact of the previous year, as the policy on…

Dishwashing is predicted to experience declines in both volume and value sales terms in 2021. This is an effect of reduced demand for much of the category following strong performances in 2020 as an impact of the lockdowns, which forced households to…

The pandemic continued to have an impact on retailing in the UK in 2021. At the beginning of the year, the government imposed a national lockdown which lasted from 6 January to 8 March. From 8 March onwards, the government followed a 4-step roadmap,…

Fruit/herbal tea performed particularly well during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and continued to help drive overall sales growth in tea in 2021. The category was already growing due to the health and wellness trend even before the outbreak of the…

Bleach is predicted to record marginal declines in both retail volume and current value sales in 2021 when compared to 2020 which saw a surge in demand due to heightened hygiene awareness as a result of the pandemic. The marginal declines are due to…