Overall shop prices were 0.6% higher than a year ago last month, down from 1% in October, according to the BRC-NIQ Shop Price Monitor.

Spending data from Barclays shows transactions on November 28 reached a 2025-high, up 62% on the average.

A £3.95 card features heat-activated ink that, when warmed, reveals a code to redeem a free sausage roll or vegan sausage roll.

Britons are planning on sending more gifts this Christmas compared to last year – up from 20% to 33%, according to a survey for the Post Office.

The move follows increasing anger from customers and consumer groups over rising mobile and broadband tariffs.

There are no changes for in-person gambling or horse racing, while bingo duty is being abolished entirely from April next year.

The Gambling Commission said the latest annual industry statistics showed the rise was largely driven by online gambling.

The watchdog compared prices on 175 home, technology and health appliances from eight major retailers for six months either side of Black Friday 2024.

Some 69% of farmers believe the buying relationship between growers and retailers has deteriorated in the last two years, the poll found.

GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index fell by two points to minus 19 in November.

Consumer expectations for the state of the economy over the next three months have fallen significantly, according to data from the BRC and Opinium.

Ministers have confirmed plans to make it illegal for tickets to concerts, sport and other live events to be resold for more than their original cost.

The ASA ruled that Booking.com, Accor, Travelodge and Hilton all misled consumers over the number of rooms available at the cheapest prices.

Citizens Advice said its fifth annual parcel league table laid bare ‘how broken this market is’.

StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School, BSM Driving School, Gold’s Gym, Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical will all be investigated.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it was aiming to ensure firms ‘do the right thing by their customers’.

The Summer Berry Company is now growing British strawberries at a commercial scale all year round.

The charity GambleAware found that three in 10 adults aged 18 to 34 who gamble want to cut back or stop entirely.

Some 30% of 11 to 17-year-olds spent their own money gambling, the Gambling Commission’s annual survey found.