SIX business leaders help our resident Ash-trologist, Business Editor Ashley Armstrong, predict the year ahead.
This year’s focus will be on how quickly interest rates and inflation will come back down.
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Economists think 2024 will finish with lower rates than the current 15-year high of 5.25 per cent.
But the journey towards falling inflation has become a lot choppier since rebels in the Red Sea caused oil tankers and container ships to divert.
Half of the world’s population will head to the polls this year, not just in the UK.
And political change is rarely the recipe for short-term economic stability…
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Brits plot a getaway
Johan Lundgren – easyJet
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TRAVEL will become even more important this year with nearly three quarters of Britons planning to spend more on holidays than in 2023.
We have already seen good early demand for holidays and will be focused on continuing to enhance our customers’ experience and make travel even easier in 2024, including rolling out AI in our operations.
We will also be looking even further to the future, continuing to work with the industry to speed up decarbonisation.
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In the coming months our Hydrogen in Aviation alliance will be setting out the key milestones the country needs to meet, to ensure we can deliver zero carbon emissions technology in the years to come.
Branches to remain
Debbie Crosbie – Nationwide
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FOR some, the financial worries will continue.
That’s why all our branches will remain until at least 2026.
Our customers can talk to someone in person about their financial worries, big or small.
Value will still be king
Stuart Machin – Marks & Spencer
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I SEE three key themes for 2024.
VALUE IS CRITICAL: Nearly 80 per cent of families in our Family Matters Index remain concerned about the cost of living.
Inflation is still here and more than a million households will see their mortgage increase sharply.
So value will be the number one factor in how customers decide where to buy their food, clothing and homewares.
VALUE MEANS MORE THAN PRICE: We’re also seeing customers value ethics — showing support for British farmers — as well as wanting an easy, inspiring shop.
So retailers must make shopping convenient and engaging with modern, inviting stores.
ONLINE SHOPPING WILL GROW: But it doesn’t just mean online, it can mean ordering there and collecting in store.
Retailers need to make it easy for people to shop however, whenever and wherever they like.
Summer sport a saviour
Nick MacKenzie – Greene King
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AFTER a first Christmas since 2019 without lockdown curbs or severe rail strikes, we are hopeful that 2024 may be an even brighter year for the hospitality industry.
That is especially so with a summer of sport featuring the Euros and the Olympics.
However, challenges remain.
We have continued to see the cost of doing business increase, putting increasing pressure on pub operators.
With wages and the overall regulatory burden rising, we need to ensure regulation, in particular business rates, is fair and proportionate for the sector, to stimulate growth.
With a general election coming up we hope to see politicians recognise the importance of the hospitality industry to the economy and communities by securing its long-term future and creating a regulatory system in which it can thrive.
Goodbye, Putin gas
Greg Jackson – Octopus Energy
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ENERGY bills should start to fall as Europe learns to live without Putin’s gas.
New wind farms and solar farms will produce more cheap electricity, further reducing costs.
Green energy will create real opportunities.
Octopus alone will create 3,000 green jobs next year — with thousands for plumbers, electricians and re-trained gas engineers to install cheap, efficient heat pumps, solar panels, batteries and home chargers.
Electric cars will get cheaper — there’s every chance we’ll see excellent new vehicles for between £10,000 and £20,000.
And AI will continue to enter everyday life,
Office workers will have AI co-pilots to do a lot of word-based work.
Bring on Olympics
Regis Schulz – JD Sports
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WE have seen typical young JD Sports customers continue to prioritise their budgets on sports fashion and sneakers as an “affordable luxury”.
The Euros and Olympics could see more spending.
Loan cut home joy
HOME owners should soon be able to bag a cheaper mortgage after lenders kicked off the year by slashing rates.
Halifax cut them by as much as 0.92 per cent — the equivalent of £162-a-month.
Leeds Building Society said it was cutting its standard variable rate by 0.75 per cent from the current 7.49 per cent, while lowering its two-year fixed rate to 4.6 per cent.
The average two-year fixed rate is now 5.93 per cent, according to Moneyfacts.
Cheap so cheerful for Xmas
ALDI and LIDL had record Christmas trading as more shoppers switched to the cheaper supermarkets.
Aldi said festive sales topped £1.5billion for the first time after they grew by 8 per cent in the four weeks to Christmas Eve.
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It said sales of gammon joints were up 25 per cent. Shoppers also snapped up 42 million pigs-in-blankets.
Boss Giles Hurley boasted that Aldi was the “UK’s cheapest supermarket”.
But it was beaten by rival discounter Lidl, which saw sales rise by 12 per cent over the Christmas period.
Lidl said its premium “Deluxe” range helped to attract 4.5million shoppers during December.
Read more on The Sun
Boss Ryan McDonnell said customers were “craving a touch of luxury at low prices”.
It sold 45 per cent more bottles of prosecco, and sales of its panettone were up by a fifth.
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
