The Goods UK: Black Fri-yay or nay?
Welcome back to The Goods UK! This week we’re chatting about retailers blacking out Black Friday, restaurants banning phones at the table and zip wires and wild swimming in shopping centres.
Fun stats of the week
- 350%: The amount that the price of a Freddo has risen by in 30 years (The Times).
- 947%: the increase in volume of searches for Scotland kit following World Cup qualification (Fashion Network).
- 100,000: The number of bottles of wine Vagabond’s new urban winery can produce per year, using grapes sourced within two hours of London (The Times).
What’s in: this week’s trends
- Black Fri-yay or nay?: Retailers are increasingly caught between the commercial necessity of Black Friday and growing consumer scrutiny of overconsumption, forcing them to rethink how they show up during the biggest retail moment of the year (Vogue Business). This year, we’ve seen the emergence of a #MassBlackout campaign urging shoppers to boycott major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as brands must now weigh participation not only against environmental and ethical issues, but also against the risk of reputational backlash if they appear to endorse hyper-consumption (Independent).
- Grow up and glow up?: The volume of skincare pitched at toddlers is soaring, and dermatologists say it’s bordering on dystopian. Shay Mitchell’s new kids’ skincare line, complete with animal-shaped sheet masks for three-year-olds, has become the latest flashpoint in a booming trend of beauty brands now targeting children (The Times). While the trend taps into growing interest in skincare among tweens and young children, the backlash highlights growing concern about the commercialisation of childhood, rising beauty anxiety among under-10s, and the industry’s push to create lifelong customers before they’ve even hit puberty (Independent).
- Gen Z stirs the scene: Gen Z is reshaping the UK’s drinking culture, with younger consumers favouring cocktails, especially Spritzes and Espresso Martinis (Harpers Wine & Spirit), over traditional drinks, driving earlier-evening socialising and fuelling rapid growth in brands moving beyond shelves and into hospitality to meet Gen Z and millennials where they actually consume alcohol. Majestic Wine’s expansion of its Vagabond self-serve wine bars taps directly into this shift and shows how traditional retailers are adapting to changing drinking habits and experience-led consumption (The Times).
Cash or card: shopper behaviour
What’s in and out of our baskets right now? This week, it’s all about banks, phones and Scottish success.
- No Signal, All Taste: Forget iPad kids, the rise of smartphone use means there’s a device at the table for every meal, and Mayfair’s new restaurant Punk Royale is not happy to see it, having banned phone use at the table. According to the head chef, locking away phones allows customers to truly immerse themselves in the dining experience, and she’s not alone. Endo at the Rotunda, a restaurant in White City, also tried to minimise phone use at the table (The Telegraph). It’s just a reminder that sometimes, the real luxury is going off-line and on-course.
- Money, money, money: While people may ignore many bank invitations to switch, it may be time to consider those suggestions. According to the Lloyd’s Bank, 50% of their customers have stayed with them for over two decades and according to analysts, this loyalty is not always rewarded (Sky News). The idea that banks are all the same is being questioned, with some offering perks like fee-free spending internationally, and family health insurance. (GB News) To put it simply, staying with the same bank may be the easy option, but it may cost more than people account for.
- Twenty years later…: With the Scottish football team securing a spot in the next World Cup, it was definitely time to celebrate, with JD Sports reporting a surge in interest in buying the national football kit. Online enquiries for ‘Scotland top’ rose to 832% day-on-day. We’ll keep an eye out on kit updates from Adidas when they come (Fashion Network)
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:
- Let’s get physical (retail): Landlords are taking the term ‘physical retail’ to a whole new level as they fight to attract shoppers back in store. From zip wires to darts and crazy golf to wild swimming, vacant lots in shopping centres are being filled with activities to keep customers entertained (The Guardian). Frasers Group has doubled down on its physical retail space by purchasing Scotland’s largest retail destination, Braehead Shopping Centre. The deal gives it an additional 1 million square feet of space and 15m annual visitors. The move comes following the Group’s purchase of Waterfront Retail Park in Greenock showing an increased focus on bringing back physical shopping (Retail Week).
- Starships are meant to… roll: The winter chill has started to set in and Brits are beginning to cozy up for Christmas. Coupled with the increasing tendency to choose to dine in, rather than out, Uber Eats has found a space age solution for food deliveries. Through its partnership with Starship, customers in Leeds will soon be able to have their food delivered by an autonomous robot. Deliveries can be made within a two mile radius of selected local merchants and bring food to customer’s doors in under 30 minutes (The Grocer).
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