The Goods UK – 14 February 2025
Roses are red, beauty’s on the rise, retail was resilient, much to our surprise…
Welcome back to The Goods UK. This week, as Brits exchange a billion Valentines cards, we’ve been chatting about the resilience of physical retail, UK companies pondering DEI policies and beauty for men being on the up.
Stats of the week
- 1 in 5 18 to 27-year olds are effectively teetotal. (The Times).
- 20 million the total number of Tesco Clubcard users, 30 years after the scheme’s inception. (The Times).
- 203 million views for #mensskincare views on TikTok last year. (Boots Beauty Trends Report).
What’s in: this week’s trends
- Jetting towards Net-Zero?: Of the top-ten largest economies in the world, only the UK managed to submit its emissions-cutting plans to the United Nations before the agreed deadline this week (Bloomberg). Its pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 81% by 2035 and the relaunch of the Net Zero Council (co-chaired by Ed Miliband) has turned some heads and made the UK a rare bright spot for its continued pursuit of 1.5C (Edie). Amid Heathrow’s much-talked-about expansion, some have pondered if the plans for a third runway squares-up with the government’s overall net-zero strategy. In response, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confidently argued for the potential of greener aviation, announcing a £63 million investment to support the UK’s production of sustainable aviation fuel (Green Air News).
- AR you ready?: Despite growing up in a digital world, Gen Z is keeping physical retail alive. New research shows nearly 75% of Gen Z shop in person weekly, with a focus on the experience, not just transactions – long queues and outdated payment methods are considered dealbreakers for young shoppers (Retail Dive). Adding to the demand, 61% of Gen Z said they are more likely to purchase a product after having an AR experience with it, while 82% like AI tools that provide recommendations (Retail Week). Some, however, would rather not purchase products at all… data from the British Retail Consortium shows that organised theft among Gen Z (fuelled by cost of living pressures and a sense of resistance against capitalism) is escalating, costing UK retailers an estimated £2.2 billion (Retail Week).
- Oxford Street is hot this week: Oxford Street, long known as London’s iconic retail hub, is undergoing a significant transformation. Ikea’s highly anticipated city store received a company-record 3,700 job applications this week, ahead of its opening in spring (Retail Gazette). The Swedish favourite is being touted to lead on bringing a unique mix of physical and digital retail experiences to shoppers. Meanwhile, the former House of Fraser is being repurposed by Third Space gym, a favourite among celebs like Prince Harry and David Beckham (The Times), and Elon Musk is reportedly eyeing a new flagship location to showcase his electric vehicles (The Telegraph). With luxury brands and digital-first businesses leading the way, Oxford Street is evolving into a more diverse and experience-driven destination, blending retail, office spaces, and lifestyle offerings in an effort to revitalise the area post-pandemic.
Cash or card: shopper behaviour
What’s in and out of our baskets right now? This week, it’s all about how January discounts and diet regimes offered retailers a helping hand and we look at the rise of the pro beauty devices promising ‘botox-in-a-bottle’ like results…
- Bargain Hunt: Despite consumers tightening their belts, the latest data from the BRC and KPMG has revealed a welcome plot twist. Sales were up in food (+2.8%) and non-food (+2.5%) in January, providing a welcome boost to the high street following the golden quarter that “failed to shine”. (The Grocer) We braved the miserable weather to take advantage of seasonal discounts, particularly across furniture, bedding and other home accessories, according to the BRC (Retail Week). Furthermore, UK shoppers were tantalised by health food trends on socials, with Barclays reporting a 10.7% rise in discretionary spend on health and beauty products; the strongest growth rate for the sector in over three years, driven by the ‘influence’ of influencers and socials-driven health trends. (The Guardian)
- Beauty is in the eye of the (Boots Advantage Card) beholder: This week saw Boots release its trends report revealing the patterns forecast to dominate the beauty industry this year. Some weren’t wholly surprising – for instance whilst social media is popular for product discovery, 94% of beauty consumers prefer shopping in-store for cosmetics. But we were fascinated to learn that demand for international beauty products is rising fast, so fast that one Korean skincare product sells every 30 seconds. Most ‘illuminating’ was Boots’ 536% spike in the sale of LED masks in 2024 revealing a booming demand for what experts are calling ‘biohacking’. The high-tech beauty trend, takes inspiration from the aesthetics industry and centers on what those in the know call ‘prejuvenation’. Where healthcare and beauty intersect with advance technologies – it seems millions are hooked already. (Retail Week).
Making moves: industry changes & innovation
ICYMI, even industry icons need to reinvigorate their brand presence through unique and creative ways. Here are some movers and shakers that you should know about:
Diversity in Decline?: As the saying goes when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold. It’s perhaps unsurprising then that some City leaders have been questioning whether diversity quotas hinder rather than help representation, aligning with a broader scepticism that DEI has gone too far (The Telegraph). Yet, diversity advocates argue this is a moment of clarity – implying companies swiftly abandoning DEI may never have been fully committed in the first place (Financial Times). In related news, a recent gender diversity study found 72% of AIM companies still have no women in key leadership positions, and a mere 5% have more than one woman in a senior board role, highlighting any form of DEI ‘rollback’ may be detrimental to representation (City AM).
TasteGPT: TikTok and Instagram are shaping food trends, influencing supermarkets and restaurants to develop visually appealing products, such as ube and burrata. Ex-Google executive Alon Chen tapped into the market, launching Tastewise in 2017, which harnesses AI to predict food trends. With major clients like Nestlé, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and Waitrose, Tastewise analyses vast datasets from 335,00 outlets, 6,073 ingredients, supermarket products, restaurant menus and millions of food-related posts to predict emerging trends. As major players like M&S and Waitrose integrate AI insights with human expertise, the cycle of viral food trends continues to feed innovation (The Times).
Roblox and bamboo socks: Some brands are embracing the video game favourite Roblox to engage with their customers in unique and innovative ways. Athleisure retailer Alo Yoga, for instance, has recently revamped its digital sanctuary and is allowing players to access exclusive virtual items by visiting stores in-person, gamifying the shopping journey, boosting footfall and harmonising physical with digital. The initiative also includes running challenges and wellness content designed to bring the brand’s core values of movement, mindfulness and recovery to life in a virtual space (Retail Week). Alo Yoga follows several retailers, including Mango, Walmart, Adidas and Maybelline who have hopped on to the platform in the last year or so (Retail Dive).
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