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Five ways to adapt to changing consumer behaviour amid cost-of-living crisis

Retail veteran Peter Williams and executives from Pandora, Bookshop.org and REN Clean Skincare reveal how they are witnessing spending habits shift – and what this means for their strategies – ahead of appearing at Consumer Week

The combination of rising prices and falling consumer confidence is a major concern for retailers and consumers alike. Inflation is at 9.1%, its highest rate in 40 years, with the Bank of England expecting it to hit 10% during the golden quarter. The Office for Budget Responsibility also expects a 2.2% decline in real household disposable income for 2022/23.
Retailers are facing rising costs and decreased sales as a result; Amazon, for example, reported that its shipping container costs for Q1 more than doubled compared to pre-pandemic rates.
However, with wage increases not keeping pace, the pressure is on retailers to absorb these costs and avoid passing them on to shoppers.

To understand how retailers can drive resilience against this backdrop, Retail Week spoke with industry executives to find out how they are reacting to consumer shifts. Read More…