UK food industry, TV streaming, energy tariffs, Apple Card: your commercial news round-up
updated on 08 August 2019
The summer is a great time to get into a good routine of keeping up with the latest business developments. Our weekly commercial news round-ups do the hard part for you, summarising interesting and relevant news stories from the week. The rest of the research and analysis is up to you!
- The UK food industry has asked the government to relax competition law in the event of a no-deal Brexit so that rival companies can work together to coordinate supplies. The current rules ban competitor suppliers and retailers from discussing supply or pricing, but with the threat of the UK leaving the EU without a deal looming, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) hopes that this will prevent food shortages. The government is yet to respond to the FDF’s concerns.
- Research from media regulator Ofcom has revealed that the UK is becoming a nation of streamers, with Netflix and YouTube now among the four most popular television channels. The number of households subscribing to popular streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Now TV, has increased from 11.2 million in 2018 to 13.3 million in 2019. However, watching programmes on a TV set remains the most popular choice for the public, with the five main terrestrial channels holding onto 52% of viewing figures.
- Millions of Brits will see a fall in their energy bills as price caps set by Ofgem, the government regulator, come into action. The caps will affect those who are on default gas and electricity tariffs and have not switched suppliers, with the typical household seeing a £75 decrease in their annual payments.
- A select group of customers will be trialling Apple’s new virtual credit card this week, with a full rollout expected later this month. The card includes a unique reward system, including 3% back on purchases at the Apple Store, 2% back using Apple Pay and 1% on all other purchases. Users can track their spending and view rewards on the digital dashboard.
- Fast fashion retailer Boohoo has purchased ailing high street stores Karen Millen and Coast, putting up to 1,100 jobs at risk. Operating from 32 stores and 177 concessions in department stores, the brands will be available to buy online at Boohoo as the online retailer attempts to attract an older audience. The stores will close shortly in the future while stock is sold off.
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