At a glance – what this report will tell you

What a ride the past 18 months have been. 

When Retail Week last published this report in April 2020, the UK was in its first lockdown and dealing with the onset of the pandemic. Little did we know how long and difficult the path ahead would be. 

Now in its 10th year, Retail Week’s flagship Retail report is based on in-depth interviews with the leaders of the UK’s biggest retailers and, for the first time, a selection of interviews with international chief executives. 

They were keen to talk. In past years, we have interviewed 25 UK chief executives. This year, however, we more than doubled that to 53 UK interviews and six international interviews. The retail chiefs were eager to share their experiences from these tumultuous 18 months and their hopes for next year. 

With the worst of the global coronavirus pandemic seemingly behind the UK, retailers are increasingly buoyant about what appear to be the sunlit uplands of 2022.

This report reveals 88% of UK retailers expect sales to be up in the calendar year 2022, with 43% going as far as to say “much higher”. 

However, things may be better, but they are not the same. 

Swathes of consumers who never shopped online before have had no choice but to learn how – and they now know how easy it is and are unlikely to turn back. 

The work-from-home revolution looks set to be one of the lasting legacies of the pandemic, with large numbers of companies allowing remote working to continue in some fashion.

So with consumers now spending a much greater amount of time at home, should retailers be readjusting property portfolios to re-enter the local high streets they once sought to exit? 

And with the shift to digital and their own head office employees working from home, what will be the lasting impact of the pandemic on retailers’ internal business practices? 

Agility will be critical if retailers are to meet the new needs of the consumer and take advantage of the abundant opportunities in a resurgent market. 

It is all to play for, but only those who invest, adapt and transform will win.