There are potential signs of improvement in 2024, such as the Bank of England keeping interest rates at 5.25% since August after 14 consecutive interest increase to control inflation. The inflation rate fell from 4.6% in October to 3.9% in November which recorded as the lowest inflation rate since 2021. Additionally, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revised the UK's GDP in December to fall by 0.1% in the year to September, compared to previous estimates. Britain's GDP has been revised down to no growth from the previous forecast of 0.2% growth for the three months from April to June.
Affordable Brands Are Preferred
Tamara Sender Ceron from Mintel, a customer research firm in the field of fashion and retail, states that the cost crisis and inflation will continue to affect consumer spending and make it difficult for brands to maintain customer loyalty. Ceron said that young consumers pose a threat to traditional retailers, especially since these tend to prefer affordable brands such as Primark, Shein and Temu, and emphasized on the need for retailers to integrate and devise innovative strategies to regain customer interest in the competitive market.
Sustainability and Climate Change
Emily Gordon-Smith, content director and sustainability lead at trend forecasting agency Stylus, says the climate emergency situation and weather conditions will impact brand strategy next year, while traditional supply chains will become more fragile within the classification of the regions which are affected the most by the adverse weather conditions and that durable products will be the key for the future businesses. Gordon-Smith also stated that due to new legislation and changing consumer attitudes, brands should be positioned themselves far ahead of their competitors to cope with the fast-pace changing landscape.
Refunds
While Tamara Sender Ceron noted that returns will be a problem for companies also in 2024, with the emphasis on several retailers which are now applying returning fees and that consumers therefore have become more conscious and increased their awaraness on the price label of the product and the cost of delivery. Additionally, some brands have implemented a loyalty program and stopped charging delivery fees to their loyal members. While stating that solving the returning item case actually means solving the fitting and sizing problem, Sender Ceron noted that this problem hopefully will be solved in 2024 and that consumers will have a better idea of how a product will look.
