New ONS data shows that average pay in the UK is rising at record rates, however, it continues to fall behind inflation. Average weekly earnings in November 2022, including bonuses, were up 6.5% year-on-year. This is the strongest growth rate outside of the pandemic period. However, even this growth, driven by high labour demand and limited supply, is unable to keep pace with inflat...

A range of factors continue to disrupt supply chains including the war in Ukraine, labour shortages, avian flu and the cost-of-living crisis resulting in more people switching products. This is covered in more detail in our free Viewpoint webinar on 26 January . Book your place here . Availability concerns remain high In the latest consumer research conducted for IGD (13-15 January ...

The last year has seen unprecedented change and uncertainty impacting our industry, compelling businesses to be more innovative and forward thinking than ever before. As we look ahead at 2023, the opportunity to collaborate, share learnings and evolve our industry together has never been more important. The Social Impact team at IGD are facilitating several Advisory Groups and networks , to p...

Your overview of economic and policy news with a focus on the food and consumer goods industry. Featuring the latest developments and guidance on the rising cost of living, the Ukraine crisis, labour shortages, COVID-19 and adapting to a new relationship with the EU. Living standards to fall Independent analysts have estimated that the typical income after housing costs for workin...

The Government has announced the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme, providing organisations with a discount on energy bills from April 2024. This scheme will replace the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme , which expires in March 2023. The Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide businesses, public sector organisations and voluntary bodies with automatic discounts on the unit prices of g...

IGD’s CEO, Susan Barratt, contributes to the BRC’s Retail Sales Monitor, providing insight on UK food and drink sales. December saw strong headline growth in food and drink sales, registering a notable acceleration over sales in November. With Christmas falling on a Sunday, the week ending Saturday 24 December delivered the biggest cash value ever recorded for a trading week in the secto...

Your overview of economic and policy news with a focus on the food and consumer goods industry. Featuring the latest developments and guidance on the rising cost of living, the Ukraine crisis, labour shortages, COVID-19 and adapting to a new relationship with the EU. Predictions for 2023 2023 is set to be another challenging year for the food and consumer goods industry, dominated...

Your overview of economic and policy news with a focus on the food and consumer goods industry. Featuring the latest developments and guidance on the rising cost of living, the Ukraine crisis, labour shortages, COVID-19 and adapting to a new relationship with the EU. How high will food inflation go? The ONS has announced that food price inflation increased to 16.5% in November fro...

The UK “all items” CPI inflation rate has eased slightly from the October level of 11.1% to 10.7% in November 2022.   This is due primarily to falling motor fuel prices - could we have moved past the peak for overall inflation in the UK? The latest UK inflation data is available from ONS, up to November 2022. “All items” inflation is now +10.7% year-on-year, by the CPI method,...

ONS has issued new data on the state of the UK labour market. The market remains strong, but there are signs that it is now being impacted by economic pressure. October’s GDP figures indicate that UK economic activity fell by 0.3% in the three months to October. Unemployment remains low, but is beginning to rise, up 0.1% in October.  Job vacancies continue their downward trend but...