Spending squeeze: Next has pencilled in a year-on-year sales decline of 2 per cent
Fashion chain Next will this week shed light on how Britain’s squeezed consumers shopped over Christmas.
Thursday’s trading update should provide clues about how the wider sector performed. Lord Wolfson, Next’s chief executive, has predicted that shoppers were likely to draw in their spending.
The company has pencilled in a year-on-year sales decline of 2 per cent for the year to January.
Greggs, the bakery chain, will deliver its update on Friday followed next week by Marks & Spencer and a slew of other retailers.
Analysts at AJ Bell said Next was normally slower than others to mark down its goods after the Christmas rush but this year went live with sales on Christmas Eve.
That suggested the firm is ‘not immune to the squeeze on consumers’ pockets by the cost of living crisis’.
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