Christmas dinner prices are making headlines again as the big day nears. The cost of an average Christmas meal is a fifth higher than before the pandemic, spurred by a surge in the price of mince pies, parsnips and turkey, reports The Financial Times. A basket of 10 items, including potatoes, carrots and pigs in blankets, averaged about £39.40 in December — a 1.7% rise from last year.
The Grocer has been closely tracking the impact of inflation on the festive meal throughout December, with two special Christmas-themed baskets in the Grocer 33. Our first, made up of food, drink and other seasonal items for shoppers looking to do Christmas on a budget, was 1.5% more expensive than in December 2023, while a frozen turkey crown was 7% cheaper on average across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose. The second found the price of a luxury Christmas dinner was down by 0.1% to an average £217.80.
The grocery industry watchdog is to make a rare intervention in a Yorkshire sprout grower’s £3.7m legal case against Aldi over the discount chain’s decision to terminate a long-term supply deal, The Guardian reports, covering news reported first by The Grocer on Wednesday.
British retail sales rebounded less than expected in November, as strong supermarket sales were offset by a tough month for clothing stores in the run-up to the crucial Christmas shopping period, reports The Financial Times. The quantity of goods bought rose by 0.2% between October and November, following a 0.7 contraction in the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.
The Guardian also reports on retail sales figures from the ONS, showing volumes rose 0.2% month on month in November, falling short of the 0.5% economists had forecast.
As does Sky News.
The Bank of England has warned that the economy is stagnating after Rachel Reeves’s budget as businesses have responded by raising prices and cutting jobs, reports The Times. Officials at the Bank downgraded their forecasts and said they now expect “zero growth” in the final three months of 2024.
The Standard also reports that the Bank of England has slashed its forecast for growth at the end of the year warning that GDP will stagnate following the Budget. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) reduced its projection for growth in the fourth quarter of the year to 0.3% to 0.0%.
Parcel thieves are threatening to ruin Christmas, according to The Telegraph. A surge in online deliveries over recent years, especially during the Christmas period, has led to a spate of reports of thieves swiping boxes from porches and behind bins before their rightful recipient can retrieve them, based on research by parcel logistics company Quadient. Meanwhile Britain has grown sick of ‘totally shameless’ delivery drivers, says a separate article in the newspaper, with Citizens’ Advice reporting a “worrying trend of worsening customer service”.
‘Invisible’ fintech companies are cashing in from point-of-sale systems that suggest restaurant customers pay tips of up to 20% using iPads, while creaming off a slice, reports The Telegraph.
The new boss of the Body Shop has told staff the struggling ethical beauty retailer is “back for good” after it booked a profit in its first 100 days under new ownership, reports The Guardian. The retailer is understood to have reported a £2m profit on sales of £28m in the first three months under its new owners, led by Jatania’s Aurea Group.
A long read in The Guardian explores how beer baron Humphrey Smith built Samuel Smith, the pub chain that bans the use of mobile phones, and why many of them are shuttered.
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