UK consumer spending and retail sales reports for January looked superficially strong on Tuesday but challenges clearly remained last month with higher spending either still lagging inflation or failing to recover the lost ground after falls in the same month a year ago.
It’s worth noting that the data offered by the two report sources — Barclays and the BRC-KPMG — may vary due to different criteria used to compile the figures. But the overall trend picture is similar.
First the regular monthly Barclays report. That looks at general consumer spending on payment cards but also includes retail sales.
It said credit and debit card spending grew 1.9% year-on-year in January – the highest uplift since March 2024, but lower than the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.2%.
And despite falling consumer confidence in the UK economy, down five percentage points to 21%, non-essential spending grew 2.7%, led by the resilient performance of entertainment, health & beauty and digital content & subscriptions.
Barclays data showed spending on clothing and department stores declined by 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively, after posting growth in December. This came as 49% of consumers said they’re planning to cut back on non-essential spending, with the majority (55%) of this group limiting impulse purchases, and a similar proportion cutting down on new clothes and accessories (54%).
Some 37% said the colder and wetter weather combined with the dark evenings in January impacted their spending. In addition, 13% reported they opted to do more online shopping from the comfort of the couch. This preference for at-home browsing drove the share of online retail spending (excluding groceries) to a three-year high in the month, at 58%.
Spending on pharmacy, health & beauty increased 10.7% in January – the strongest growth in almost three years. This came as 19% said they’ve recently been influenced by social media content to make a purchase, rising to 40% for Gen Z.
Meanwhile, the British Retail Consortium said in its regular BRC-KPMG Retail sales Monitor that specific retail sales in the five weeks from 29 December to 1 February increased by 2.6%. That was against growth of just 1.2% in January 2024.
Non-food sales outperformed with a rise of 2.5% against a decline of 2.8% in January 2024 and in-store non-food sales increased by 2.6% against a decline of 2% this time last year. The same stronger picture could be seen online where non-food sales rose 2.2% having fallen 4.2% 12 moths ago.
But it’s worth noting that in almost all of the above non-food comparisons, the increases in January 2025 didn’t make up for the decreases in January 2024, apart from when it came to sales in physical stores.
It’s also worth noting that the three-month figures for UK retail didn’t look good, confirming that the so-called golden quarter lost some of its lustre this time.
BRC CEO Helen Dickinson said: “January sales kicked off a solid month for retail with stores delivering their strongest growth in almost two years, albeit on a weak comparable. Consumers headed to the shops to refresh their homes for the year ahead, taking advantage of big discounts on furniture, bedding and other home accessories. With growth across nearly all categories, only toys and baby equipment remained in decline. While the bouts of stormy weather put a temporary dampener on demand, sales growth held up well throughout the rest of the month. This was also helped by the earlier start of the reporting period, adding a few more post-Christmas shopping days into the mix.”
And Linda Ellett, UK head of Consumer, Retail & Leisure at KPMG, added: “2025 got off to a welcome start for retailers with much needed sales growth in January. But viewed over a three-month period that included Christmas and Black Friday, non-food sales have flatlined. Overall, the golden quarter failed to shine.”
Luxury department store Harrods has appointed Incubeta to manage its global digital marketing. The partnership will cover all omnichannel operations but will specifically focus on “accelerating digital growth and footfall” for the luxury retailer among its highest-value customers across key markets. This includes the UK, US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and further markets in Asia.
Harrods
Covering pay-per-click (PPC), SEO, paid media, and digital PR, the relationship aims to maximise the return from its digital investment “to drive sales” across its London, Knightsbridge store, online, app, rewards loyalty programme and its five UK-based H Beauty stores.
Incubeta aims to achieve this via its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered ‘Seamless Search’ platform.
“By analysing multiple data signals in real-time, this aims to ensure that Harrods’ digital spend is allocated with precision, optimising each campaign for maximum efficiency and impact”, it said.
Additionally, Incubeta will work closely with Harrods to leverage partnerships with brands.
Sandra Truesdale, Head of Digital Marketing at Harrods, said: “The growth and evolution of our digital marketing channels are essential for Harrods to meet the needs of luxury shoppers today, while staying ahead of the ever-changing landscape. Incubeta understood the strategic imperative to deliver a data- and insight-led approach that enables us to meet our global business profitability goals for omnichannel customer growth.”
Andrew Turner, MD, Incubeta UK, added: “We are delighted to be coming on board to deliver the next phase of digital acceleration for the brand. By integrating core elements of marketing into a single, connected strategy, we’ll deliver a smarter and more effective omnichannel experience for Harrods’ global audience.”
Richard Bradbury, executive chair of family-owned fashion retailer River Island, is stepping down from his role, citing personal reasons, the retailer conformed in a statement.
Photo: Sandra Halliday
Following the announcement of his departure, River Island also said Ben Lewis, who is related to founder and owner Bernard Lewis, will return to the position of CEO with immediate effect. Clive Lewis, the son of the founder, will also take on his previous role as non-executive chair with immediate effect.
Ben Lewis, who previously held the CEO position for nearly a decade before stepping down in 2019, said: “I am excited to be rejoining River Island at such a pivotal time.”
He added: “Richard has built a great team, and I look forward to working with them to continue to develop the business and capture the many opportunities ahead.”
Bradbury, who had served as its CEO until 2010, rejoining River Island in December 2022, added: “It has been a great honour to have worked in this amazing business twice. The River Island team is incredible, and during the last two years we have achieved so much together to position the business for its next phase. I know [it] will be in strong and capable hands under the experienced leadership of Ben.”
After swinging to a loss in 2023, River Island reportedly last month drafted in consultants from AlixPartners to focus on profit improvement.
Italian hatmaker Borsalino is diversifying by introducing a capsule collection of glasses. It is Borsalino’s first foray in the eyewear segment since it was bought in 2018 by Haeres Equita, the investment fund led by Philippe Camperio. Borsalino had developed a line of glasses in the 2000s, and this time it has partnered with emerging brand Ophy Eyewear, creating an exclusive collaboration.
Borsalino will drop a collection of glasses with Ophy Eyewear in spring – Borsalino
“The collaboration with Ophy marks a new milestone in our brand’s growth,” said Mauro Baglietto, CEO of Borsalino, in a press release. He added that this is a “new chapter in Borsalino’s quest for creative synergies, as it continues to promote a dialogue between tradition and innovation.”
Ophy is an emerging Italian eyewear brand founded in 2018 by Sicilian designer Placido Minissale, an architecture enthusiast who designs his collections with a contemporary approach, deconstructing the forms of classic eyewear.
Borsalino and Ophy have developed a capsule collection of four models called ‘Jean’, ‘Alain’, ‘Ingrid’ and ‘Marcello’, previewed at the Mido eyewear trade show held in Milan on February 8-10. In the press release, Borsalino described them as “glasses that strike a perfect balance between contemporary design and timeless style” with their “essential geometric lines and distinctive details.”
The cellulose acetate frames are available in black and in dark or light brown tortoiseshell, and are all decorated with the golden Borsalino logo. The line will be commercialised at a retail price of €330 from end of March and April via Borsalino retailers and duty-free stores and the brand’s e-shop, as well as selected eyewear specialists worldwide.
In the last few years, Borsalino has dropped a number of collaborations, notably with long-established brands. Recently, it partnered with iconic Neapolitan tie brand E. Marinella, and with century-old Italian jewellery brand Damiani. In 2023, Borsalino created capsule collections with Saint Laurent, Elie Saab and Chloé.
Entertainment8 years ago