Podcasts from Share Radio Breakfast related to Personal Finance - Weekly Shopping

Supermarkets, everyone has their favourite. However some new players in the market have definitely shaken things up. We've seen the rise of 'budget' supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl becoming the new popular way to shop, Aldi recently overtook Co-op to become the UK's fifth largest grocer. So where does this leave the more 'high-end' supermarkets such as Waitrose? It was reported yesterday that Waitrose is planning to close some of it's stores, so could this mean the beginning of the end of the 'middle-class' supermarket? Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel gave Share Radio his analysis.

Tis the season to be jolly, and one form of festive relaxation is to imbibe with some fine wine. But will your glass be filled with something made in Britain? Lucy Winward from the award-winning New Hall Vineyard in Purleigh, joined Share Radio Breakfast to talk English wine.

The latest retail sales data for November is in and, as widely expected, Black Friday and other retail sales days boosted the numbers. The figures are nearly 6% higher than the same period last year. But do the figures tell the whole story of what’s going on in retail, especially in light of Brexit, and with sterling in flux? Matt Cox found out more from Mintel’s Retail Analyst, Richard Perks.

Black Friday is on and bargain hunting shoppers may spend an estimated £2 billion trying to beat expected new year price rises. And according to the online retailing association IMRG, well over half the spend will be done online. So it might seem surprising to find that two old pre-internet age stores are being revived on the High Street. Safeway and Austin Reed are both staging a comeback, so Matt Cox has been hearing from Mintel’s Retail Analyst, Richard Perks, about the return of these old names.

When it first crossed the Atlantic, Black Friday was a one day affair when we sat back in amusement watching punch-ups over cheap TVs. Now, hundreds of household name retailers are already dangling Black Friday carrots in front of our noses. Last year, amazon.co.uk sold more than 7.4 million items on the day at a rate of 86 items per second and are expecting to beat that this year. Fergal Gara is a Director of Amazon UK, and he joined Share Radio Breakfast to discuss the event.

As Black Friday approaches and retailers gear up to welcome an influx of shoppers, Barclaycard is warning merchants to prepare for an increase in customer returns. Paul Lockstone is the Managing Director at Barclaycard, and he joined Share Radio to discuss those shoppers who deliberately over-purchase and then return unwanted items.

There's life left on the UK High Street. UK retail sales rose at their fastest annual rate in 14 years in October. But retailers really can’t afford to have a bad Christmas as it’s the time of year when most of their money is made. Richard Perks is a Retail analyst at Mintel, and he joined Share Radio Breakfast to discuss those strong figures, whilst also looking ahead to Black Friday and Christmas trading.

With Black Friday and the busiest shopping period of the year approaching, research from Barclaycard has revealed that frustrated consumers are turning their backs on the high street. As a result, retailers are facing growing pressure to improve their in-store experience, or risk losing out on sales. To discuss this, Paul Lockstone, Managing Director at Barclaycard, joined Share Radio Breakfast.

Its China's Singles Day, also known as "bare sticks holiday". What began as an antidote to Valentine's Day has now become a spending fest, with Chinese consumers shelling out almost £6bn online last year. Matthew Crabbe is Director of Research in the Asia Pacific region for industry researchers Mintel. He told Share Radio that this year's singles day promises to put Black Friday in the shade.

The latest consumer spend data from Barclaycard shows that spending growth hit 5.5% in October. But the data also reveals that consumer confidence in the UK economy dropped from a record high level in September, with only a third of people feeling confident in the UK economy. Paul Lockstone, Managing Director at Barclaycard, joined Share Radio Breakfast to discuss the data.