Editor’s comment | What happens next?

Most food-and-drink retailers – including those independents we spoke to for our Big Story – seem to have enjoyed a pretty decent festive season, with sales increasing year on year and footfall and basket size holding up well.

But the picture is complicated. The impact of inflation can be hard to untangle from the overall growth figures, and local factors seem to have played a major role in determining what kind of Christmas individual stores experienced.

The good news is that there were no major signs of the cost-of-living crisis having decimated sales or scared customers away. Yes, there is clearly a degree of caution out there, but the determination to celebrate with family and friends – especially after the restrictions of the past two years – seems to have outweighed any such considerations.

The big question, of course, is what happens next? January is always quiet, and as Kent-based Premier retailer Anita Nye points out in our article, February and March are likely to be crucial, as people’s credit card bills start to land, mortgage rates increase and government support for domestic energy bills is scaled back.

Yet, while consumer sentiment is important, it is the “cost-of-doing-business crisis” that is of just as much (if not more) concern to independents. Support for business energy bills will be much reduced from April – to a level derided by the Association of Convenience Stores as “woefully inadequate”.

The living wage will also go up in April, while retailers in Scotland will need to come to terms with what is increasingly looking like a poorly thought-through deposit return scheme for single-use drinks containers.

Remarkably, though, independent retailers remain resolutely upbeat and optimistic about their prospects for the coming 12 months. This really is a resilient industry and the sheer hard work and determination shown by store owners is incredible.

David Shrimpton | Editor