A journalist at the Financial Times is writing a piece on how much consumers have been spending in July and August. She wants to know whether the recovery of consumer spending seen in the second quarter as we emerged from lockdown continued into Q3 (July-Sept). She's after comment from consumer-facing businesses, or anyone with insights on this front. How has business been in July and August to date? Are consumers still spending? Keep your alert_responses to no more than 2 sentences!

Financial Times article on consumer spending

"Though our website sales have dropped significantly over the summer, the physical shops that stock our products have kept us going. Consumers are shopping more at brick-and-mortar shops than online, which is no surprise given our newfound freedoms."

Run by the wife & husband duo, Teddo Play are a multi-award-winning British brand creating versatile Educational Learning Products for children 2-14 years old. As recently seen live on TV on BBC News & in a number of national press and media, recognised as the 'Best in Children's Development Products' this year by the England Prestige Awards, selected by the renowned entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, from the Dragon's Den, as one of his small business winners, and recognised as the 'Most Innovative Children's Product Brand Director (UK)' by the AI Influential Business Women Awards 2021, all of Teddo Play's Learning Resources are highly engaging & interactive making them a loved resource across children (and adults!) of all ages, needs and abilities. Our range comprises of many varieties of highly versatile sturdy Visual Learning Sets, Portable Educational Poster Boards & other educational products that help encourage conversations and make grasping & retaining of information easier in children. They help promote knowledge & a deeper understanding of various concepts to help boost children's IQ levels, build a robust visual memory & instil a natural enthusiasm for learning in them.

Teddo Play

Keisha Shah

"We saw a record month for gifting in July and a solid start to August. On average, consumers are spending more than a year ago as confidence in job security returns and worries about further lockdowns fade."

We specialise in delivering happiness, and help you stay connected to people, wherever they are. Offering customisable, personalised gift boxes, that can be delivered direct to your recipients’ door, to your offices or both. Keep up employee engagement, motivation and morale with a personalised gift box full of exciting treats and goodies sent direct to the door or desk. We have a large collection of boxes to choose from or we can work with your budget, brand and messaging to help create your very own bespoke box. Not just for colleagues, our gift boxes are also ideal for sending to prospects, suppliers, customers, friends and family or as a marketing tool, to showcase your products...in fact it would be hard to find someone who wouldn't love to receive a Colleague Box from you!

Colleague Box

Adam Bamford

"BEAR saw a positive increase in consumer confidence towards the end of July and so far in August. Despite the negative impact of the 'pingdemic', customer demand has been strong. The difficulty for most small businesses has been the ability to balance strong demand with limited staff due to isolation, a stressed labour market alongside supply-chain issues. Nonetheless, small businesses fight on, as always, and play their significant role in the UK's economic recovery. Boris, you are welcome."



AN AWARD-WINNING INDEPENDENT BRAND OFFERING AN ELEVATED COFFEE EXPERIENCE ‘IN-STORE AND ‘AT HOME’ BEAR serves speciality coffee, seasonal fresh food and cocktails in beautifully thought out spaces. We currently operate five stores throughout a mix of affluent towns and cities. Our expansion plans explore future store opportunities across the UK BEAR was conceived out of a passion, not just to offer great coffee, but also to create a great environment in which to enjoy it. Founded in 2014, it was the realisation of a vision that co-founder Craig Bunting had in Australia whilst enjoying such an experience and wondering why he was unable to do so back in the UK. Craig shared his vision with an old school friend Michael Thorley and the pair, both with the same love for coffee and a keen sense of adventure, set about researching the market, learning about the product and developing their skills with a view to creating something special. In February 2016, BEAR Uttoxeter opened its doors and has been the busiest coffee spot in town ever since. Following the opening of BEAR Uttoxeter, Craig & Michael met and built a relationship with Chris Price, who soon joined the business as BEAR

BEAR

Craig Bunting

"August has been quieter than a toddler who’s found the permanent marker pens and is happily graffitiing the walls. The summer months are always on the slow side but compared to 2021, sales have steadily decreased from July to August, and there’s tumbleweed in my online store. I'm keeping everything crossed for a September baby boom and some autumn arrivals to get things moving again."

The Little Black & White Book Project brings to life animals from around the world as high contrast illustrations to help visual development in newborn babies as well as support toddler and pre-school learning. We are passionate about fostering a love for wildlife from as early an age as possible which is why we donate 25% of profits to wildlife charities. We are passionate about supporting parents with tools to help their little one's early development and creating products with purpose that reduce waste and last more than the usual few months like other baby toys. We strive to be as eco conscious and sustainable as possible to reduce our impact on planet earth. We are far from perfect but we are continually striving to be better. Our current range includes board books, storybooks, interactive flash cards, prints, accessories and decor. The business is run solely by founder, creator and mum of 2, Ruth Bradford from her Bristol home.

Financial Times article on consumer spending

4 responses from the Newspage community

Keisha Shah

Founder-Director at Teddo Play

Adam Bamford

CEO at Colleague Box

Craig Bunting

Co-founder at BEAR

Ruth Bradford

Owner/founder/creator at The Little Black & White Book Project