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Trading businesses were asked how their turnover in January 2026 compared to December 2025, excluding any seasonal trading. Information are plotted in the middle of the period of each wave. Nearly a third (31%) of trading businesses reported that their turnover had actually decreased in January 2026 compared with the previous month.
Nevertheless, the motions are broadly in line with those observed around this time in previous years, with peaks in December followed by little falls in January. The industries with the greatest percentage reporting that turnover reduced in January 2026 were: the accommodation and food service activities industry (52%, which is a 21 portion point increase from December 2025) the other services industry (45%) the arts, entertainment and recreation industry (40%) Approximately 16% of trading services reported that their turnover increased in January 2026, which was a 3 portion point boost compared to December 2025.
For trading services with 10 or more workers, 33% reported that their turnover had reduced, which was broadly stable compared with December and January 2025. More than one in 5 (23%) businesses reported that their turnover had increased, up 2 percentage points compared with December 2025. Normally, the percentage of services reporting that their turnover increased correlated to the size of business.
Redefining Production: The Growth of the Circular EconomyThe exception to this was the percentage for companies with 250 or more staff members, which was 25%, and 5 percentage points lower than December 2025 (30%). Trading services were asked how they expect their turnover to alter in the coming month. This can then be used to anticipate how business's turnover will actually change as soon as that calendar month concludes.
Although patterns in between expected turnover and real turnover have broadly moved in the exact same direction, the movements for expectations tend to be larger. For presentational purposes, some reaction alternatives have been removed. Data are plotted in the middle of the period of each wave. Caution must be taken when interpreting expectations concerns, as the employees responding on behalf of companies might not have full oversight of all of their service's future expectations.
More than one in 5 (21%) trading businesses expect their turnover to increase in March 2026. This is a 6 portion point increase from February 2026 however was broadly steady compared to expectations for March 2025 (22%). The proportion of trading companies expecting a boost in January 2026 was 13%, while the proportion that reported an actual boost in turnover in January 2026 was 16%, suggesting a slight pessimism in businesses expectations.
The trends have broadly followed each other because the questions were introduced in April 2022. The results for March 2026 follow the trend from previous years, with the portion of organizations expecting turnover to increase peaking after a decrease in January. Larger businesses were more likely to expect a boost in turnover in March, with the proportion varying from 20% for businesses with 0 to 9 staff members, to 42% for companies with 100 to 249 workers.
For presentational functions, some action alternatives have actually been gotten rid of. Data are outlined in the middle of the period of each wave. Caution needs to be taken when analyzing expectations questions, as the staff members reacting on behalf of organizations might not have full oversight of all of their business's future expectations. "." represents data not yet available.
The percentage of trading businesses that expected a reduction in January 2026 was 25%, while the percentage that reported an actual reduction in turnover in January 2026 was 31%. The percentage of services anticipating turnover to reduce for a particular month ahead of time has stayed significantly lower than the percentage of companies reporting an actual reduction because month since April 2022.
Nevertheless, expectations for turnover to decrease have regularly followed the very same pattern, as real reported turnover decreases throughout this time. Trading services were asked what challenges, if any, were affecting their turnover in early February 2026. Around 3 in 10 (30%) trading businesses reported that financial unpredictability was having an effect on their turnover, which was broadly steady with early January 2026.
For trading companies with 10 or more employees, expense of labour was the most frequently reported obstacle, at 36%. Businesses with 10 to 49 staff members were more most likely to report expense of labour as a challenge than services with 250 or more staff members (37%, compared with 20%). One in 5 (20%) trading businesses with 10 or more staff members suggested that they were not presently experiencing any turnover challenges in early February 2026.
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