The Goods UK – 9 May 2025
Welcome back to The Goods UK. This week we’re chatting fashion’s female trailblazers, gyms taking a breather and a fresh twist for your Friday fish and chips.
Fun stats of the week
- 63%: The share of solo travellers booking hostels last year, up from 57% in 2021 (The Times)
- 3 billion: The number of cups of coffee drank across the globe every day (Financial Times)
- 73%: The percentage of younger consumers who check reviews before making large purchases (Channel X)
What’s in: this week’s trends
- She’s sew in charge: A new wave is sweeping the UK high street and it’s powered by women designing for women. From fashion startups to established labels, female designers are reshaping wardrobes with clothes that put comfort and confidence first (The Guardian). While beloved brands like Whistles, UNIQLO, and Cos have long championed women designers, it was Alice Bugeja – founder of women-only runwear brand Mileoff – who stole the spotlight last month with a sell-out launch that dropped on International Women’s Day ( Runners World).
- Heartbreak at the gate: Breakups are packing more than just emotional baggage, fueling a surge in solo travelers flocking to Asia’s budget-friendly hostels and signaling a major shift in the travel industry (The Mirror). According to Hostelworld’s chief, Gary Morrison, the share of solo travellers booking hostels grew from 57 per cent in 2021 to 63 per cent last year, with the growth being attributed to younger female travellers looking for opportunities to meet up with others following enhanced safety measures such as female-only dormitories (The Times).
- Shopping carts get smart: OpenAI’s latest updates are positioning ChatGPT as the ultimate sidekick for online shoppers, prompting the question: Could the ‘ChatGPT of shopping’ be ChatGPT itself?’ (Vogue Business). As buzz around generative AI hits new heights, American Express’ recent Spending Spotlight uncovered that more than half of Gen Z and Millennials trust online reviews over any other form of recommendation, while around one in six Gen Z consumers said social media was the top way to find something new and unique ( Channel X).
Cash or card: shopper behaviour
What’s in and out of our baskets right now? This week, we’re talking about gym openings taking a rest day, the unstoppable rise of the K-beauty craze and why radios are making a comeback.
- Gymtimidation: New gym openings in the UK struggled to beef up last year rising just 1.8 per cent to 5,030, new figures from the accountancy group UHY Hacker Young show. As high street retail declined during the pandemic, gyms capitalised on competitive rents and available space. However, “there is a sense that many high streets have reached a saturation point in terms of the number of gyms they can sustain.” Nevertheless, confidence in the market remains strong, with seven M&A deals struck last year (The Times).
- K-Beauty Boom: For years, the K-beauty craze has been unstoppable, with the promise of “glass skin” inspiring American consumers to quickly embrace Korean skincare (The Independent). Social media is the driving force behind K-beauty’s popularity among Brits and, with a fifth of Gen Z consumers using K-beauty products, (The Guardian) it’s no wonder brands such as Belif are entering the UK market (The Industry.Beauty).
- Somebody’s watching me: Britons are buying radios because they are afraid that their smart speakers are spying on them, the boss of Roberts Radio has claimed. Sales at the company have skyrocketed recently, with CEO Owen Watters linking the surge to rising concerns about the privacy risks tied to smart devices. Meanwhile, cybersecurity experts are quick to remind us that tech companies don’t need to listen in on our conversations to create disturbingly accurate profiles for targeted ads (The Telegraph).
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:
- Fryday treat: A Friday evening fish and chips takeaway is a well-established and resilient British tradition, despite the fried delicacy witnessing a 50% rise in average price for the five years to July 2024 (BBC News). In response to the increase in fish consumption across the UK, as well as data which has shown that 90% of 18-34 year olds are interested in a brand new sauce for fish, Heinz has launched a new fresh and herby condiment to accompany the dish. The “Tartare 2.0” is hoped to be the new go to sauce for the 81% of Brits who use various sauces with fish (The Independent).
- Better latte then never: 3 billion cups of coffee are drunk globally every day, a number anticipated to double by 2050 if current trends continue (Financial Times). Yet, as climate change is putting pressure on supply through unpredictable weather in key growing countries, and prices are rising by up to 40% a year for some brands, researchers are being forced to rethink and adapt the way that coffee is produced (The Guardian). Whether shifting production geographically, or diversifying into climate-resilient coffee species, we can certainly expect further innovation in the years to come.
- Level up: In a world-first, New Zealand’s tourism body has partnered with Warner Bros Pictures to launch an immersive virtual experience for the popular video game Minecraft (Globetrender). The initiative transforms iconic tourist hotspots into the distinctive blocky aesthetic of the game, allowing players to virtually experience activities like exploring the glowworm caves of Waitomo, or paddling through Abel Tasman National Park on a traditional Māori waka.
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