I’ve just had some feedback from an attendee at yesterday’s IGD/Asda Trade Briefing. It seems that premium food is back in growth in the UK.
People want affordable treats. Preferably edible ones.
With continuing economic uncertainty and an accompanying general unwillingness to engage in full-on luxury consumption, the ‘little treat’ might turn out to be the saviour of retail.
I suppose you could classify the explosion in the ‘dine in’ occasion (a la M&S’s Dine in for £10) as a ‘little treat’, which is certainly still popular and sits happily alongside premium food generally.
And cupcakes are apparently taking over the world.
But the lipstick index (which suggests that in an economic downturn women boost their mood with small indulgences like lipsticks rather than bigger ticket items) certainly isn’t edible (at least I hope not) yet still counts as a ‘treat’.
Go on, treat yourself. The economy is counting on you.
by Zen Cupcake on flickr, CC applies and you can buy the poster from here