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Diane Wehrle CEO at Rendle Intelligence and Insights joins Simon for their monthly chat

We take a look at May’s retail and economic signals, where the mood stays low but the sales numbers finally lift. We tease out how heat, online shopping, and where people choose to spend time reshape the outlook for high streets, retail parks, and seaside towns.
• Consumer confidence stuck at minus 23 on the GfK index
• Unemployment improving slightly to 4.8%
• Retail sales rising year on year across BRC and ONS measures
• Online spending driving much of the uplift, especially in non-food
• Fashion outperforming food on value growth, with different online shares
• Footfall declining overall, with retail parks holding up better than high streets and shopping centres
• How extreme heat changes destination choice and town centre comfort
• Lessons from the US out-of-town, climate-controlled shopping model
• Hospitality and fast fashion adapting quickly to weather-driven demand
• Summer trading patterns by location, with seaside towns relying on August like Christmas

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