Viewpoint: Conflict compounds cost of living crisis webinar

Chapter 1 - Where is the recovery going?

Rising inflation has eroded the spending power of many households in early 2022 and further pressure is expected in the months ahead. Consumer confidence is very low.

James Walton, Chief Economist at IGD, explains why it is likely that the UK’s recovery from COVID-19 has been ended by inflation and uncertainty.

Chapter 2 - Is this the peak of inflation?

War in Ukraine has accelerated pre-existing global commodity price inflation and this change is being passed through to UK shoppers in the form of much higher living costs. For many, inflation is outstripping income and prosperity is declining.

In this video, James explains why IGD believes that this economic phase has a long way to run.

Chapter 3 - How will shoppers cope with rising inflation?

As the impact of rising national insurance, food and energy bills takes effect, Michael Freedman, Head of Economic and Consumer Insight at IGD, shares the latest research from IGD’s shopper Confidence Index and why IGD expects shopper confidence to dip further in the coming months.

Chapter 4 - Eating in vs eating out – what’s going on?

Value retail sales for food and consumer goods are down slightly, year-on-year, in spite of accelerating inflation. Eating out sales appear to have returned to the pre-COVID-19 level, but it is not clear if volumes or profits have also recovered.

In this video, Michael shares research from IGD’s new Eating Out market forecasts which anticipates that both markets will see poor volume performance in the next few years, but not be dormant.

Q&A

In this video, James and Michael answer a variety audience questions following the webinar.

The report referred to in this webinar is the latest edition of IGD Viewpoint and is free to download here.