Britain's big supermarkets say they have never been more competitive on price, yet their customers are still flocking to German-owned discount stores Aldi and Lidl.

Davies forgot all about buying the ticket until the valet at the car wash asked him to take everything out of his car.

The most recent retail sales figures from the Office for National Statistics show a plateauing of online retail sales over the past 12 months.

Prices of everyday basics like Bounty paper towels and Cadbury chocolate may rise again this year while those of others like Clorox Co wipes and Diet Pepsi are likely to stay steady.

A curious horse was caught browsing the aisles of the Tesco store in Pengam Green, Cardiff.

This Valentine's Day is set to look different after a year of record food inflation that has sent up prices of everything from flowers to chocolates and dining in restaurants.

Shoppers around the world will pay even more for groceries this year than they did in 2022, according to retailers, consumer goods firms and investors, unless commodity costs decline or the shift to cheaper store-brand products accelerates.

Electronic commerce is gradually replacing physical stores in the British economy. However, brick-to-mortar stores are still strong pillars of UK business.

British grocery inflation hit a record 16.7% in the four weeks to Jan.

Supermarket group Tesco, the biggest retailer in Britain, announced Tuesday plans to slash about 2,100 jobs, as sky-high inflation hikes costs.

Inflation-pinched British consumers cut their shopping by the most in the key month of December in at least 25 years, official data showed on Friday, dashing hopes for a Christmas boost for the country's flagging retail sector.

Britain's biggest retailer Tesco said it would focus on offering customers better value deals in January as it does not believe inflation has peaked, preparing for a tough 2023 after shoppers defied the cost of living crisis and spent big at Christmas.

British shoppers spent freely at Christmas, piling their trolleys with party food, drink and clothing as they enjoyed the first holiday season free of COVID worries for three years, but retailers warned most will tighten their belts in 2023.

British retailer Marks & Spencer reported strong Christmas sales, with demand for turkeys and sparkling wine delivering its highest ever share of the food market and sequin-decorated partywear boosting its clothing sales.

Sainsbury's, the first listed British supermarket to update on Christmas trading, forecast full-year profit at the upper end of its guidance after shoppers spent more than expected on festive treats despite a deepening cost-of-living crisis.

Weak confidence around personal finances and a squeeze on disposable income will hold back growth in food retail sales to around 5% in 2023, according to market researcher NielsenIQ.

Updates next week from Britain's biggest retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer are expected to confirm that while Christmas was not the disaster that some had feared, consumer demand is set to weaken in 2023, denting profit.

British grocery sales rose 9.4% to a record 12.8 billion pounds ($15.3 billion) in the four weeks to Dec.

If a settlement is not reached, the case will be pursued in the High Court in London, the legal firm warned in a statement.

In Britain, the damage wrought by rampant inflation can be seen in the fate of the humble egg.

At a vast warehouse in the southern Dutch city of Roosendaal, automated cranes and driverless vehicles silently stack clothes for the French and Italian stores of retailer Primark, reducing the need for hard-to-come-by labour.

Tesco, one of Britain's largest private-sector employers, is offering its staff advances on their pay in the latest sign of the distress arising from a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Skipping lunch each day and watching television in blankets to keep warm is not how Ann and Keith Hartley envisaged their retirement in Burnley, the northern English town hit hardest by Britain's cost of living crisis.

Britain will Thursday hike taxes and slash public spending in a government budget that signals a return to austerity despite a cost-of-living crisis and recession headwinds.

British grocery inflation hit 14.7% in October, another new record, and it is still too early to call the ceiling, market researcher Kantar said on Tuesday.

British shoppers cut their spending sharply last month and their confidence is close to record lows, underscoring the challenge facing the next prime minister who must also take painful measures to slow fast-rising public borrowing.

British company owners are pulling investments as a crisis triggered in Westminster pushes up borrowing costs and hits confidence in an economy once seen by businesses as a haven of stability.

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, forecast full-year profit at the lower end of its previous guidance, blaming uncertainty over how consumer spending will evolve amid a worsening cost-of-living squeeze.

Britain's private-sector economy last month suffered the sharpest contraction in activity since a COVID lockdown early last year, underlining the challenge facing Prime Minister Liz Truss who on Wednesday emphasised her push for economic growth.

Not everyone is happy at the closures, with disgruntled holidaymakers forcing Center Parcs to U-turn on its decision to remove guests from its UK venues for 24 hours.