UK Retailers Offer Big Discounts as Shopper Confidence Wanes

UK retailers are discounting heavily to lure shoppers amid weakening consumer confidence, underscoring the risks facing the sector as it braces for higher costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

Overall shop price inflation slowed to 1% year-on-year in April, the British Retail Consortium said Tuesday. Food prices rose 3.1% from a year earlier, compared with a 3.4% increase in March. Non-food prices by contrast fell 0.1%, returning to negative territory after growth of 0.1% in the year to March.