the Pulse

Merchants’ confidence in the market and in their business remained very strong in July. Sales expectations are also high. Material supply problems... Learn More

Merchants’ sales expectations remained strong in June. However, issues around supply with shortages, lengthy lead times and price increases have had a... Learn More

Confidence in the market and sales expectations in May compared to April remained strong. However, merchants’ concerns have shifted from Brexit and... Learn More

Merchants’ sales expectations and confidence in April compared to March remained high, and they continued to rise sharply compared to April last... Learn More

Merchant’s views in March were boosted by the Prime Minister’s announcement of a roadmap out of lockdown. But increased sales activity and... Learn More

Across all aspects measured by the Pulse, merchants are noticeably more positive in February than they were in January. Expectations are also... Learn More

Despite the country going into lockdown again, merchants expected to sell more in January than in December. They also expected to sell... Learn More

While short term sales expectations are cautious, merchants’ outlook for the next three and six months rose markedly in December. Merchants’ confidence... Learn More

Interviews took place during the week before the second lockdown. Against this background, merchants were cautious about prospects in the near future,... Learn More

As we approach the winter months, merchants’ expectations and confidence are cooling. However, the overall outlook remains positive with merchants particularly confident... Learn More