the Pulse

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

There was a cooling of merchants’ expectations and confidence in September. While the market is still buoyant, with a V-shaped recovery, merchants... Learn More

August’s survey showed a market still recovering from lockdown and still confident of further recovery. Sales expectations and confidence vary by merchant... Learn More

July’s survey shows the industry returning to a pre-Covid world. Many branches are fully open and most of the rest are planning... Learn More