Cost Prices To Grow By Up To 8% In 2017

Cost prices will grow between 5% and 8% over the course of next year, the KMPG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT) has predicted. The think tank said the rise in cost prices would be accompanied by a stagnation of retail growth owing to the political uncertainty caused by Brexit and the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. It estimates that retailers will pass on price rises of between 2.5% and 3% to consumers, choosing to absorb the rest themselves, or push costs on to their supply bases. Overall, RTT believes that any growth from non-discretionary spending will be offset by a decline in discretionary spending, resulting in overall growth of 0.5% across 2017. Read more at Retail Week.