UK retail sales volume down amid bad weather and inflation; Twitter drops 'legacy' blue tick – Business Live | Business
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, financial markets and the world economy.
British consumers bought fewer goods last month as inflation ate into the household budget and wet weather drove shoppers off the high street.
The volume of retail sales in Great Britain fell by 0.9% in March, new figures from the Office for National Statistics show.
This follows a 1.1% increase in February 2023, which raised expectations of economic growth this year.
On an annual basis, total retail sales volume declined by 3.1% last month compared to March 2022. But, shoppers spent 4.5% More To buy LessReflects price growth over the past year – as this chart shows:
Photograph: ONS
The ONS reports that sales volume at “non-food stores” fell 1.3% during March after a 2.4% increase in February. Retailers blamed “severe weather conditions for most of March” for affecting sales.
Food store sales are expected to decline by 0.7% in March 2023 after increasing by 0.6% in February 2023.
Food prices are skyrocketing as food inflation is at a 45-year high of over 19%.
But, there are some signs that consumer confidence is improving. The consumer confidence index released by market researcher GfK rose six points to minus 30 in April.
This follows double-digit growth in the previous month, and could be an early sign of economic recovery.
The latest PMI surveys for the UK, Eurozone and the US will reveal how companies are doing this month.
work schedule
-
7am BST: UK retail sales figures for March
-
9am BST: Eurozone ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ survey for April
-
9.30am BST: UK ‘flash’ purchasing manager survey for April
-
2.45pm BST: US ‘flash’ purchasing manager survey for April
key events
A fall in UK retail spending last month means sales volumes are 0.7% lower than before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic:
darren morgan, ons Director of Economic Statistics says:
“Retail sales declined sharply in March as inclement weather impacted sales in almost all regions.
“However, the broad trend is down as retailers’ strong performance in January and February means the three-month picture shows positive growth for the first time since August 2021.
“In the latest month, department stores, clothing stores and garden centers experienced heavy downpours as significant rainfall dampened shopping enthusiasm.
“Food store sales also slipped, with the retail reaction suggesting rising cost of living and rising food prices are affecting consumer spending.”
While losing your blue tick may stroke the ego of some Twitter users, it also increases the risk of impersonation by fake accounts.
whole night, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Warned his followers to beware of fraudsters.
Although we lost our checkmark, this is the official USCIS Twitter account. Please beware of fraudulent accounts.
when in doubt, go For the latest immigration and citizenship information with direct links to our social media.
— USCIS (@USCIS) April 20, 2023
Twitter has previously advised government entities to apply for free BlueChecks through a special program, but some have reported they have been unable to do so until now, my colleague Kari Paul Explains, adding:
Experts have said that failure to verify such entities increases the risk of scams and even threatens to eliminate online disaster response, with agencies such as national weather system Now check-less.
Horror novelist Stephen King found he still has a blue mark on Thursday after a purge of legacy verified accounts.
Last November, King announced to his seven million followers that he would not be sighing for Twitter Blue musk must pay him To create content on social media site.
King, who promised to ‘run like Enron’ if Elon Musk started charging for verification, insisted he didn’t subscribe.
My Twitter account says I’m subscribed to Twitter Blue. I did not do it.
My Twitter account says I have given a phone number. I did not do it.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 20, 2023
… prompting Musk to respond that King was ‘welcome’:
Looks Like The World’s Second Richest Man Is Putting Money In Some Accounts Including The Basketball Player lebron james and actors William shatneras a ledge explains here,
I’m personally paying for something
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 20, 2023
Updated at 03.11 EDT
Kari Paul
Twitter Policies implemented under new owner Elon Musk have finally removed their “legacy” blue checks from previously verified Twitter accounts.writes my colleague Kari Paul.
Musk, who bought the company in 2022 for $44bn and has so far struggled to make it profitable, has been threatening to withdraw what he called “legacy blue cheques” for months. The checkmark previously denoted accounts that had been verified for authenticity and was given to accounts of celebrities, journalists and media outlets.
Now users who want verification must pay for Twitter Blue, a controversial $8 per month subscription program under which any account can get a blue checkmark.
The rollout of the changes on Thursday was chaotic. Several high-profile users took to the platform to claim they would not pay for blue checkmarks under the new policy, while others announced they would be leaving the platform altogether.
non-profit organizations Human Rights Watch and NAACP have tweeted They won’t pay for Twitter Blue.
Famous names like Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber are among those who are no longer verified.
economist Mariana Mazzucato Here’s one of those criticizing the move, accusing Musk of being a ‘strongman freak’:
lost my @Twitter Blue tick tonight because of the whimsical whims of the little boy @Elon Musk, So be it. But why oh why would anyone pay for their short game, greed and short attention span. Insult to human intelligence. Play it
— Mariana Mazzucato (@MazzucatoM) April 20, 2023
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, financial markets and the world economy.
British consumers bought fewer goods last month as inflation ate into the household budget and wet weather drove shoppers off the high street.
The volume of retail sales in Great Britain fell by 0.9% in March, new figures from the Office for National Statistics show.
This follows a 1.1% increase in February 2023, which raised expectations of economic growth this year.
On an annual basis, total retail sales volume declined by 3.1% last month compared to March 2022. But, shoppers spent 4.5% More To buy LessReflects price growth over the past year – as this chart shows:
Photograph: ONS
The ONS reports that sales volume at “non-food stores” fell 1.3% during March after a 2.4% increase in February. Retailers blamed “severe weather conditions for most of March” for affecting sales.
Food store sales are expected to decline by 0.7% in March 2023 after increasing by 0.6% in February 2023.
Food prices are skyrocketing as food inflation is at a 45-year high of over 19%.
But, there are some signs that consumer confidence is improving. The consumer confidence index released by market researcher GfK rose six points to minus 30 in April.
This follows double-digit growth in the previous month, and could be an early sign of economic recovery.
The latest PMI surveys for the UK, Eurozone and US will reveal how companies are doing this month.
work schedule
-
7am BST: UK retail sales figures for March
-
9am BST: Eurozone ‘flash’ purchasing managers’ survey for April
-
9.30am BST: UK ‘flash’ purchasing manager survey for April
-
2.45pm BST: US ‘flash’ purchasing manager survey for April
