Handel

Grocery price inflation has slowed in some good news for consumers as retailers ramp up festive deals ahead of Christmas, figures show. Supermarket prices were still 4.7% higher than a year ago in October, but this was down from September’s 5.2%, according to market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator, formerly Kantar.more

Lidl was the cheapest supermarket in the UK in October, with an average household basket full of groceries and other essentials coming in at £120.38, a study by consumer group Which? found.more

According to the survey ‘Polish wallets: E-commerce during the festive season’, nearly one in three Poles do their Christmas shopping in November. At the same time, over 60% of respondents believe that festive advertising appears too early.more

John Lewis is hoping that a dash of nostalgia will get consumers into the festive mood this year as it officially kickstarts the countdown to Christmas with the launch of its 2025 advert to the tune of the 1990s club classic Where Love Lives.more

Yogurts and fruit juices are to be classified as junk food as Labour faces a backlash over its “nanny state” drive to tackle obesity. Health officials are preparing to rebadge hundreds of fruit yogurts, breakfast cereals and fruit juices as “unhealthy”, paving the way for scores of extra products to be subjected to strict red tape.more

Retail sales volumes have risen for the fourth month in a row, driven by consumers buying gold online and new tech gadgets. Monthly sales rose by 0.5% in September 2025, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show, defying an expected decrease of -0.2%.more

Half of young adults are choosing “no and low” alcohol products to moderate their drinking – nearly double the level since 2018, according to a report the charity Drinkaware.more

Gap, the American fashion giant, has announced its return to the British high street with three new stores set to open in London before Christmas.more

More than seven million UK adults have been hit by a scam in the past year, with 20% of them significantly affected by the financial loss, Citizens Advice has found. Another seven million adults knew of at least one other person who had been deceived by a scam, a survey for the charity suggests.more

More than 30 people have been arrested in the Metropolitan Police’s largest-ever crackdown on shoplifting gangs. Officers carried out raids at 120 shops in the capital suspected of purchasing items stolen from major retailers and reselling them at discounted prices.more

Pizza Hut is to close 68 restaurants and 11 delivery sites in the UK with the loss of 1,210 jobs, after the firm running them fell into administration. DC London Pie Limited, which operates Pizza Hut's UK restaurants, appointed FTI Consulting as administrators on Monday.more

A UK supermarket giant is set to close its doors for over 100 stores, cafes, florists and pharmacies in 2025, in a huge blow to customers. more

River Island and New Look are among a growing number of high-street fashion brands that have closed retail stores in 2025 — and more may be yet to come.more

The drones cruise at 232ft, carrying burgers and chips, fresh meat and eggs, with the packages dropped on a biodegradable string, but locals call the noise "very stressful" and compare it to helicopters.more

Britain has announced the signing of a £350 million ($468 million) contract to supply the Indian Army with Lightweight Multi-Role Missiles (LMMs) produced by Thales in Northern Ireland. The deal marks a major step in the expanding defence and industrial collaboration between the United Kingdom and India.more

Lidl will close the vast majority of its stores for three days over the Christmas period, as the supermarket becomes the latest major retailer to give staff a longer festive break.more

Nearly 30 million people in the UK who bought an Apple or Samsung smartphone between 2015 and 2024 may be entitled to about £17 if the consumer campaign group Which? is successful in a case against US tech giant Qualcomm.more

Tesco has warned of an intensifying price battle in the run-up to Christmas amid “pressure on household budgets” but upped its full-year profit expectations by £100m after it grabbed market share and drew in more shoppers by keeping a lid on inflation over the summer.more

Price or multibuy promotions on unhealthy food and drink, such as "buy one, get one free" deals, are to be banned in England from Wednesday. The restrictions will apply to supermarkets, larger high street shops and online retailers.more

Retailers have told the government that tax rises could further fuel inflation as the pace of shop price rises stepped up in September with increases on home improvement and gardening goods offsetting stabilising food prices.more

Royal Mail has announced plans to recruit around 20,000 temporary workers to help with deliveries over the busy Christmas period. The delivery giant said the new jobs will be split across two parcel hubs, four seasonal parcel sorting centres and 37 mail centres across the country.more

Under the settlement, Amazon is to pay a fine and refund approximately 35 million Prime shopping service customers. This will cost the company a total of $2.5 billion, Reuters reported today. The settlement applies to individuals who purchased the service between 2019 and 2025.more

Amazon is planning to close its 19 UK grocery stores less than five years after it launched the till-free sites in London. Amazon said five of the stores earmarked for closure would be converted in to Whole Foods stores, a fresh and whole food brand which Amazon owns.more

In the Nordic countries, there are nationwide restrictions on the sale of alcohol at night. In France and Belgium, decisions on this matter are left to local authorities, which impose restrictions for reasons of public order.more

Bosses at the clothing and homeware chain Next are forecasting years of “anaemic” growth across the UK, with the retailer claiming that regulation, government spending and higher taxes will hurt jobs and productivity.more