The Goods UK – 25 July 2025
Welcome back to The Goods UK! This week we’re chatting the obsession with all things British, woke fashion and Gen Z brand makeovers.
Fun stats of the week
- £1,000: The average amount Brits spend on sweet treats in a year. (The Sun)
- 15.4m: UK adults consciously overspend once a month, with women more likely to splurge on clothing, loved ones and children and men more likely to overspend on streaming and the gym. (Nationwide)
- 7,000: Steps a day could be enough to improve health, despite the perspective that we should be doing 10,000. (BBC)
What’s in: this week’s trends
- Who runs the world?: From the fairway to the football pitch, women are rewriting the rules of the game. Golf is booming among female travellers, with participation up 41% since 2019. Resorts from Fiji to Miami are responding with inclusive design, stylish gear, and women-led lessons. (Vogue) Meanwhile, UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 has shattered attendance records, topping 600,000 fans before the final. More women are showing up, teeing off, and turning out in record numbers, and sport is evolving in their image. (The Guardian)
- Brits do it best: From jungle artist Nia Archives calling the Union Jack “punk” (The News Movement) to Olivia Rodrigo gushing over Colin the Caterpillar at Glasto, British culture is having a global resurgence. UK artists like Rachel Chinouriri and Pink Pantheress are proudly waving the flag, while US stars are adopting British slang and style. (The Guardian) Amid the usual grumbles, Brits are owning their identity, celebrating everything from nostalgic 90s music to sticky toffee pudding, proving it’s cool to be British again.
Cash or card: shopper behaviour
What’s in and out of our baskets right now? This week, we’re discussing the rise of early-bird dining, dopamine dressing, and punters heading to the pub.
- Last orders: Early evening dining is the hottest dish in London right now, with restaurant bookings up 11% at 6pm and up 10% at 5pm compared to last year. (Financial Times) To lure back late-night diners, restaurants are testing supper clubs, live music, themed events, and discounts. First Table, which provides half-off discounts for early reservations, suggests the industry could move towards surge pricing based on demand. But it’s not just customer habits driving this shift, with many restaurants closing their kitchens earlier to cut staff hours and employment costs.
- Woke but broke: Feel-good fashion is everywhere right now, with dopamine dressing and “safe ugly” pieces like Labubu charms and pigeon clutches becoming this season’s must-haves. ( Glamour) Gen Z are driving the change, with new research finding that over half admit to overspending on trends, even if it’s beyond their budget. (Nationwide) From Crocs to collagen, Gen Z are splurging on whatever sparks serotonin and as a way to signal “status and cultural currency”.
- Punters pack pubs: As Brits flock to pub gardens to soak up the summer sunshine, JD Wetherspoon has reported like-for-like sales growth of 5.1% for the three months to 20 July. (This is Money) Breakfast orders, New Zealand wine and Italian prosecco proved particularly popular, with Guinness the standout performer. Demand for the black stuff was so high during The Open in Portrush last week that some pubs ran out completely, despite ordering more in preparation. (BBC)
Making moves: industry changes & innovation
ICYMI, industry icons are reinvigorating their brand through unique and creative ways. Here are some movers and shakers that you should know about:
- Cartificial Intelligence: Picture this; you’re asking Chat GPT to find a great pair of shoes and find out you can buy the pair off their platform itself. Open AI is exploring the opportunity to launch integrated checkout, following the success of tools like TikTok Shop. With AI’s ability to provide information about a product, as well as simplifying the purchasing process, the need to visit another website is eliminated. It seems like AI’s foot into retail might just be the perfect fit! (Retail Week)
- Sustainable Style: M&S is the first retailer to bring invisible UV tags, used to track products throughout their journey in the recycling process, to their shelves. (The Independent) This marks the start of a true commitment to ensuring goods travel through the supply chain and finish their lives in a way that’s good for our planet. A small tag with a big message; sustainability is being built into the fabric of retail. (Retail Gazette)
- Quiet Horsepower: Jaguar has decided to ditch their old money aesthetic and feed into Gen Z’s latest marker of wealth: unapologetic humility. The brand decided to swap their loud jaguars for a softer logo, jaGuar, and was soon followed by Range Rover introducing their new minimalist logo to complement the brand’s traditional values. (The Scottish Sun) On the other end, PepsiCo decided to re-capitalise their logo, to represent the joy that comes with consuming its drinks. It seems consumers are attracted to logos that feel representative of their values, whether that’s loud or soft. (Financial Times)
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