‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ – ‘Grinch’ Starmer Destroys Holiday Shopping | Personal Finance | Finance
Figures released this morning show shoppers are reluctant to open their wallets, with retail sales falling 3.3% in November in what the British Retail Consortium (BRC) called a “poor start to the festive season”.
This is certainly the case. In November of last year, retail sales grew 2.6% (and the economy wasn’t exactly booming at that time).
This November is even worse, with economic growth and confidence at a standstill since the election.
This threatens further bad news for our high streets as shoppers feel the pinch, or rather the Grinch. Because this slowdown is due to mistakes made by Keir Starmer, as well as by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
They destroyed confidence by bashing the economy immediately after taking power and threatening brutal tax raids in the October budget.
Labor even appears to have halted the e-commerce boom, with online sales of non-food products falling 10.3% in November.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said it was “undoubtedly a poor start to the festive season… as low consumer confidence and rising energy bills have clearly put the brakes on non-food expenses.
Fashion spending was particularly weak as households delayed purchasing new winter clothes.
In fact, the only spending that increased was on health care, Dickinson said, “spurred by the arrival of coughs and colds this season.”
It’s not really something to celebrate.
Desperate retailers are hoping for a better December and are pinning their hopes on one factor.
Today’s figures do not include Black Friday, which took place at the end of the month on November 29. Figures for November last year included the annual promotional event.
Dickinson said that if Black Friday also disappoints, “retailers will feel the pressure on both sides as lower revenues will lead to huge additional costs next year.”
She is referring to the Budget, which saw Reeves increase employers’ National Insurance (NI) contributions, costing them £25 billion from next April.
The rise in NI alone will cost retailers – who employ huge amounts of staff – an extra £7 billion next year. Dickenson warned it could also trigger price hikes and job losses.
Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer, retail and leisure at KPMG, said retailers are hoping a successful Black Friday will “ease what would otherwise be a disappointing month”.
Otherwise, they might be forced to start Christmas sales even earlier to create some Christmas cheer.
The UK faces a bleak winter as the economy slows and it risks falling back into recession.
The worst part is that it wasn’t necessary. The UK economy was booming at the start of the year, according to the Office for National Statistics.
It increased by 0.7% in the first quarter and 0.5% in the second. But then GDP growth plunged to just 0.1% in Labour’s first three months in power, as Starmer and Reeves sowed pessimism.
When the budget tax increases take effect, the nightmare is likely to intensify.
A separate study from Barclays confirmed the gloomy mood, showing that spending on essential goods is falling at the fastest rate in five years.
Supermarket spending fell 1.8% last month, with spending on essentials like groceries and fuel falling 3.1%.
This is the steepest decline since 2019, when Barclays began collecting data.
It says two thirds of people are looking for ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shopping, amid growing concerns about the UK economy.
Barclays UK chief economist Jack Meaning blamed the drop in consumer confidence since the summer on “expectations that inflation and post-budget interest rates will remain higher in the months future “.
Merry Christmas to everyone.
