POUND NOTES
TAKE THE BISCUIT
HOME working saw people spend £24million more on tea and coffee in the past four weeks, and £19m on biscuits.
Industry analysts at Kantar also found sales of shop-bought booze were still up 41% year-onyear, suggesting people are wary of returning to pubs. Total grocery sales grew by a record 16.9% to £31.6billion in the past three months. Sales at Co-op leapt 30.6%, said Kantar.
HIGH STREET STILL STRUGGLING
RETAILERS saw a boost in sales last month as spending rapidly rebounded after the coronavirus shutdown. Sales volumes jumped by 13.9% in June compared with the month before, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It brings total sales across Britain close to the levels they were at this time last year.
However, clothing sales remain depressed, and across the high street, sales in non-food stores are down by around one third on pre-pandemic levels.
Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, said: “The retail sector bounced back as the reopening of shops released pent-up demand for some retailers.
“But the recovery is being felt unevenly across the sector, with clothing retailers remaining under significant pressure.
“Some consumers searching to break the monotony of being at home headed for the high street, but numbers remained considerably lower than preCovid levels.”
BRITS GETTING GREENER
BRITS would be willing to pay £3,654 more a year for eco-friendly household goods and services.
A poll of 2,000 adults found they’d spend an average of 12 per cent more for sustainable items – on top of their existing annual household outgoings of around £30,000.
The study, commissioned by global hygiene and health company Essity, also found the plight of the planet has become more important to the nation over lockdown, with 81 per cent becoming more concerned about environment issues.