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Newspage Raw

Retail sales – has your small business cut back on spending?

ended 23. October 2026

Retail sales figures are out.

But how is your business feeling at the moment? Are you cutting back on spending?

How is your retail business feeling? How are you feeling as a consumer? Is the cost-of-living biting?

Questions for Newspagers

  1. how is your business feeling at the moment? Are you cutting back on spending?
  2. How is your retail business feeling?
  3. How are you feeling as a consumer? Is the cost-of-living biting?

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Nouran MoustafaVerified
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
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As a business owner, I would not say I am cutting back for the sake of it, but I am being much more selective about where money goes.

Every cost now has to justify itself. If something helps us grow, improves the client experience or saves time, I will still invest. If it does none of those things, it is much harder to justify.

As a consumer, I think people are becoming far more conscious of what things actually cost. It is not necessarily that people have stopped spending altogether, but they are questioning purchases more.

The cost of living changes behaviour quietly. You delay replacing something, eat out slightly less, shop around more, or think twice before pressing “buy”.

That caution eventually shows up in retail figures.
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Tony SanchezVerified
Founder at Bridging Loan Directory
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I run Bridging Loan Directory, a specialist finance publication, rather than a retail business. We’re looking at improving the website, enquiry handling and advertiser reporting, but the plan is to phase the investment as the budget allows.

That probably says more about my approach than simply calling it a spending cut. I still want to invest in the business, but each stage needs a clear purpose and an affordable cost. Being able to spread expenditure matters when you’re running a small company.

As a consumer, I’m also conscious of what things cost. I’m prepared to spend, but I want to be confident I’m getting value.
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Tony RedondoVerified
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
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Business sentiment across mid-market firms and SMEs is one of deliberate caution. Well-managed firms aren’t swinging the axe, they’re being surgical: auditing variable overheads, tightening working capital, managing supply chain and currency risk. Discretionary capex stays firmly on hold until there’s fiscal clarity. Retail is razor thin. Merchants are squeezed between elevated input costs and a hyper-price-sensitive consumer, so volumes are unpredictable and the focus is cash and margin, not growth. The cost-of-living squeeze is biting. Food, energy and housing costs have reset permanently higher; households have moved from temporary frugality to lasting change. Essentials first, trading down everywhere else. Tomorrow’s sales data should show a public exercising acute discipline. UK trading is tough; certain overseas locations like India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, , far friendlier. But the only thing biting harder than the cost of living is the cost of doing business.