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Consumer trends

  • Thursday, 30 April, 2026
    Food & Beverage
    Magnum’s mini ice creams ease fears of weight-loss drug threat

    Ben & Jerry’s maker beats first-quarter sales forecasts though its price growth was lower than expected

    Tubs of Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup ice cream stacked in a supermarket freezer. The label and flavour are clearly visible.
  • Monday, 13 April, 2026
    Special Report
    Watches and Jewellery: April

    Start-ups lend an optimistic air to this year’s Watches and Wonders fair; gaming nostalgia gets the luxury treatment; Audemars Piguet bets on rare craftsmanship; photobook documents the life of a clock-repair shop

    Visitors walk through a bright exhibition corridor lined with luxury watch and jewellery boutiques, including Jaeger-LeCoultre and Van Cleef & Arpels, at a trade fair.
  • Friday, 13 March, 2026
    Markets
    The US consumer is OK

    But if oil stays expensive . . . 

    Robert Armstrong
    Premium content
    Several yellow Dollar General shopping carts lined up outside a store, showing the store’s logo on the handles.
  • Friday, 27 February, 2026
    Drugs research
    Longevity and ‘wellness’ craze breaks untested drugs out of the lab

    Health influencers promise an astonishing range of benefits from peptides, almost none of them tested in humans

    A vial labeled ‘Epitalon 10mg’ with a background featuring a stylised peptide molecular diagram
  • Friday, 6 February, 2026
    FT News Briefing podcast13 min listen
    A crunchy week for chipmakers

    Semiconductor companies got swept up in a wider tech equities sell-off

  • Wednesday, 4 February, 2026
    US companies
    Food and drink companies suffer as US shopper sentiment sinks

    Groups report soft sales and plans to cut prices as consumer confidence falls to its weakest level in more than a decade

    Bags of Doritos Simply NKD and Cheetos Simply NKD snacks, labeled with "no dyes or artificial flavors," on display at a Walmart store.
  • Friday, 2 January, 2026
    Luxury goods
    Luxury discounting on the rise as years of price increases bite

    As much as 40% of designer goods were sold at steep markdowns this year, analysts say

    A woman holds two large green Gucci shopping bags while walking with another person on a city street
  • Monday, 29 December, 2025
    Demographics and population
    Why don’t companies target over 55s as consumers more?

    Age group accounts for a rising share of spending but only a fraction of advertising budgets is aimed at it

    Anjli Raval
    Shoppers walk through Selfridges decorated with large gold ornaments and festive garlands for Christmas.
  • Tuesday, 23 December, 2025
    US economy
    US economy grew at 4.3% rate in third quarter

    Figure surpasses expectations after growth boosted by consumer spending

    US GDP chart
  • Monday, 15 December, 2025
    Retail & Consumer industry
    Lex. Lessons from Roomba: sometimes being first mover sucks

    In the consumer products space, rulers are dethroned with alarming speed

    Premium content
    Roomba 694 robot vacuum displayed on a shelf in a Bed Bath and Beyond store with iRobot branding and a price tag.
  • Tuesday, 9 December, 2025
    UK retail sales
    UK consumer card spending falls by most since 2021, says Barclays

    Spending in November was hit by Budget uncertainty

    People walk past shop windows displaying large ‘20% off Black Friday’ sale signs on Oxford Street in London
  • Wednesday, 26 November, 2025
    FT live news
    As it happened: Reeves unveils her second Budget
  • Tuesday, 25 November, 2025
    US economy
    Grim retail sales data fuels concerns about health of US economy

    Consumer confidence drops to second-lowest level since pandemic as inflation lingers

    An employee in a blue vest carries a large Vizio TV box outside a Walmart store.
  • Sunday, 16 November, 2025
    Food & Beverage
    Aldi effect sweeps US supermarkets as shoppers embrace private label

    US retailers are emulating European peers by selling more groceries under their own brand names

    A montage showing packs of Trader Joe's organic chicken, Perdue chicken breasts, Great Value potato chips, and Ruffles chips over a grocery receipt.
  • Tuesday, 21 October, 2025
    Retail & Consumer industry
    Why can’t I buy a small smartphone?

    Capitalism is not giving me what I want, but I’m not behaving like a good free market consumer myself

    Sarah O'Connor
    A woman uses two of Apple’s new iPhone Air smartphones at a shop in London
  • Friday, 17 October, 2025
    FT News Briefing podcast11 min listen
    Matcha mania strains Japan

    Shares in US regional banks fell on Thursday after two lenders disclosed that they w…

  • Saturday, 11 October, 2025
    Retail & Consumer industry
    I’ve seen the future of shopping — and I’m sold on AI

    Buying with the help of generative artificial intelligence is like having a personal shopper who knows exactly what I want

    Claer Barrett
    Two smiling delivery men carry a bookcase between them
  • Friday, 10 October, 2025
    Retail & Consumer industry
    The Big Read. Japan buckles under matcha mania

    Booming demand is straining a supply chain that prioritises quality and cannot expand quickly enough

    Jiro Katahira, a Shizuoka-based tea farmer
  • Monday, 6 October, 2025
    Special Report
    Risk Management: Property

    Times are tough for property owners. Threats from sources as diverse as fire and cyber security are rising, tenant preferences are rapidly shifting, and rules covering safety and climate change are evolving. On top of that, valuations in many markets have been falling

    New build construction of high rise apartment buildings along South Dock at the heart of Canary Wharf financial district
  • Sunday, 21 September, 2025
    Food & Beverage
    Going green: matcha mania takes hold in UK cafés

    Trend for Japanese tea-based beverages driven by health benefits and what looks good on social media

    A ceramic cup filled with matcha green tea, topped with latte art, sits on a saucer beside a spoon
  • Monday, 15 September, 2025
    Pop Mart
    Pop Mart shares decline by most since April as Labubu shine starts to fade

    Toy company’s stock falls amid concerns about faltering resale market

    An employee gestures beside a display of Labubu plush toys and figurines at the Pop Mart booth during a trade fair.
  • Sunday, 31 August, 2025
    Personal & Household Goods
    The kidults are more than alright for toy companies

    There is more than just escapism at work as grown-up collectors and hobbyists swell the market

    Anjli Raval
    A giant yellow Lego head with a smiley face
  • Saturday, 23 August, 2025
    Retail & Consumer industry
    Coca-Cola explores sale of Costa Coffee

    UK chain hit by rising costs and competition from upmarket rivals

    Costa Coffee sign with coffee bean logo displayed
  • Thursday, 14 August, 2025
    US economy
    Tariffs are not biting in this US city where shoppers are still ‘blowing money’

    In one patch of the world’s biggest economy, spending habits fail to match shoppers’ anxiety

    The outdoor seating area of Findlay Market in the historic neighborhood of Over the Rhine
  • Thursday, 7 August, 2025
    Trump tariffs
    Crocs shares sink 30% on weak spending and looming end of ‘ugly’ shoe trend

    Rubber clog maker predicts 10% quarterly revenue fall and warns that poorer consumers are ‘not even going to stores’

    Two pairs of Crocs shoes
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