‘IT’S AFFECTED US QUITE BADLY. A LOT OF THE CUSTOMERS STRUGGLE TO PAY NOW THAT EVERYTHING IS GOING UP’
Hanley’s indoor market, located inside the Potteries Centre, has more than 100 stalls and boasts a range of products, from fresh meat to a full English breakfast cooked for you. Other stalls sell shoes, gifts, carpets and clothes. Some traders have been in the market for more than two decades and have battled through the coronavirus pandemic. We asked traders and customers what impact the cost of living crisis has had on them – and if it’s changed their shopping habits
COLETTE Cuttler, aged 56, from Blurton, said: “We are still working the same. The cost of food has gone up a lot and other prices have gone up too.
“It’s disgusting that the Government is telling people to find a better job or move somewhere else. They should give up a bit of their money.”
Jacki Nixon, aged 59, from Trent Vale, added: “It’s not right to say find another job because some people are not able to go to work because they have children.”
Pensioner Christine Betaman has six grandchildren and says she is worried about the future for her greatgrandchildren. The 73-year-old, from Berryhill, told The Sentinel: “We have to watch the gas. Luckily, it’s summer now so you are not using it.
“It’s a good job it isn’t winter because it would’ve dropped us right into it. You’ve got to watch what you eat.
“You have also got to be more careful with what you are spending because you’ve got to think I’ve got my gas, electric and water etc… It’s frightening with the way things are moving forward and I worry for my great grandchildren – what’s the future for them?
“With the Government telling people to move elsewhere, where are you going to move to because it’s going to be the same all over the country. To move anywhere is ridiculous and where am I going to get a job at 73? I am retired and I don’t see why I should need to go to work.”
Owner of The Living Room Lorraine Stubbs, who sells giftware, says she has seen a decline in sales over the last two to three weeks. She says customers are ‘cutting back’ as they no longer have the extra income.
The 62-year-old, from Newcastle, said: “I’m selling giftware and stuff like that. It’s a commodity that isn’t essential. People haven’t got the extra income to spend so they are cutting back.
“People are struggling. My husband is a butcher and people are buying cheaper cuts of meat.
“I can understand why this is happening, there’s nothing we can do about it. Selling what I sell, there has been a decline in sales and it was bad enough before the cost of living crisis with covid. It’s just one thing after another.
“I am hoping it gradually starts picking up.”
Michelle Key has been working in the market for 25 years and has been the owner of Michelle’s Deli for two years. She says suppliers have increased their prices due to the cost of living crisis.
The 40-year-old, from Stoke, said: “It’s affected us quite badly really. A lot of the customers struggle to pay for goods now that everything is going up.
“Suppliers are putting the price of a lot of items up weekly, so then we incur costs and have to increase our prices, which is not good for the customers. We do try to keep the prices low for the customers.
“I do have quite a few regular customers who buy quite a lot from me. The majority of them, especially the elderly, buy less than
they usually did because they are keeping the costs of what they are spending low.
“It’s not nice that people are struggling. There’s a few people who can’t afford to do a full weekly shop.”
Jacob Sutton, owner of No22 market café, says people don’t want to be cooped up in their homes and want to go out and socialise. The 22-year-old added: “It’s definitely seen a decline overall. I worked here when I was 16 years old and I remember it being packed out all the time.
“We still get footfall for steady custom, but it’s nothing like it was in previous years. The prices of their gas will definitely be on their mind, but people don’t wanna be stuck in their house as well. They want to get out and go somewhere.
“This is a place they can eat and socialise so they’re torn between the two. People are still coming and using the café. “I try not to think negatively about it. From a business point of view, it’s about how we can squeeze the most out of products so it would benefit us and also make sure it’s a good price for the customer. People are struggling and it’s a shame.”