Your commercial news round-up: inflation, housing prices, train tickets and Apple

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UK inflation has risen, house prices have fallen, train ticket machines are charging customers significantly more than online retailers and Apple has taken Samsung’s place at the top of the smartphone market. Find out more in this week’s commercial news round-up.

• According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), “the consumer prices index rose by 4% in the 12 months to December 2023, up from 3.9% in November, and the first time the rate has increased since February 2023”. The ONS cited alcohol and tobacco as key drivers of the increase, with the largest downward contribution coming from food and non-alcoholic beverages. Suren Thiru, economics director at ICAEW, said: “This unexpected rise in inflation is a timely reminder that the struggle against soaring inflation is not yet over, particularly given stubbornly high core and services inflation.”  
   
• Rising interest rates have also led to a drop in house prices, which fell at the fastest pace in more than a decade in November. ONS data shows that on average prices fell by 2.1%, driven by a sharp decline in London prices. Despite this, the capital remained the most expensive part of the country, with the average home costing £505,000. Across the UK, the average property cost was £285,000 in November 2023, which is £6,000 lower than November 2022. The data showed that, of all property types, terraced houses experienced the largest fall in prices. Meanwhile, the ONS revealed that rental prices rose by 6.2% in 2023. Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at estate agency Knight Frank, said: “Low supply continues to cause financial pain for tenants as it keeps strong upwards pressure on rents.”
   
• From housing to travel, Consumer group Which? has discovered that train ticket machines are charging up to double the online price. In November, the government scrapped plans to close rail ticket offices because they didn’t meet high passenger standards. However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stands by the original plans, stating that closing ticket offices was “the right thing”. Currently, one in six of the UK’s 1,766 train stations has a full-time ticket office. But if you’re using a ticket machine when you travel, you might be paying much more than you need to. Which? sent mystery shoppers to 15 different stations, which are run by different train operators to check the price of 75 journeys from a ticket machine compared to those on Trainline. The consumer group found that tickets bought on Trainline at a similar time of day were significantly cheaper. For example, they found that the journey from Northampton to Cardiff costs £107 from the machine but can cost just £43 online. Differing prices can be caused by several factors, such as Trainline offering:
  • cheaper advance fares; and
  • split-saving options.
     
• Apple now has the largest share of the world’s smartphone market. Samsung has held this title for the past 12 years but, according to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC), last year Apple sold more than 234 million smart phones and was responsible for more than one-fifth of phones shipped – this growth has secured Apple the top spot in this market for the first time ever. The IDC commented that the smartphone market is facing interesting changes, such as:
  • an increasing number of Android providers splintering the market; and
  • consumers prioritising AI capabilities and foldable phones.

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