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Music stars Taylor Swift and Oasis, great sporting moments at the Euros and the Olympics, and what felt like an almost entirely rainy year all weighed on consumer spending this year.
Here’s a month-by-month look at what encouraged us to open our wallets this year.
January
Brits are kicking off the New Year with a thrifty approach as cost of living pressures mount, opting to stay at home and indulge in new film and TV releases such as The Traitors and Fool Me Once. The Traitors presenter Claudia Winkleman’s oversized knit and tartan outfit is having an effect on fans, it is reported Hobbycraftwhich notes that online sales of its knitted sweater designs have increased by 96% compared to the previous period.
Searches for bone broth – claimed to boost collagen and aid digestion and general health – rose 163% in Waitroseand #bonebroth has almost 300 million TikTok looked.
Chicken chain Wingstop has announced it is aiming to open 15 new restaurants across the UK – marking its biggest year of expansion since launching in the country in 2018.
February
Sol de Janeiro’s Bum Bum cream becomes the most successful beauty launch in John Lewis’ history after hitting shelves in February.
#hashwich, a sandwich made using hash browns instead of bread, is taking TikTok by storm. Sale at Waitrose hash browns increased by 24.8% year-on-year.
Deliveroo is launching a partnership with Ann Summers, allowing consumers to have products from the lingerie and sex toy retailer delivered to their homes “within minutes”.
March
Aussies are flocking to Waitrose as it’s announced stores will start selling Tim Tam chocolate bars, known as “Australian gold”. Searches for Tim Tams on waitrose.com increased by 202% the following day. The treat consists of two malted biscuits coated with a layer of chocolate with a chocolate cream filling.
One in seven British adult smokers say they use menthol-flavored cigarettes even though they are banned from 2020, research has found.April
The month became the sixth wettest April in 189 years, causing dehumidifier sales to rise by 22% at John Lewis.
Sales of umbrellas increased by 94% compared to the previous year, while sales of wellies increased by 43%.
May
As England and Scotland prepare for their opening matches of the Euros, 6% of shoppers plan to buy a new TV or electronic device to watch and follow their team, and 4% plan to buy official merchandise, British Retail Consortium (BRC) transmits.
Separate figures from Adobe show a 14.4% increase in TV spend compared to normal levels as armchair fans prepare to tune in at home, while online sales of England football shirts and other team merchandise are up 115%.
June
England’s progress in the European tournament shows that football fans increase beer sales by an average of 13% on match days compared to the same day the previous week. However, with many matches being played on “school nights”, Britons are opting for moderation, increasing consumption of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beer by 38% on match days.
Meanwhile, a wet summer saw sales of cold and flu treatments jump by 35%, while sales of sun cream fell by 10% and fake tan sales rose by 16% compared to the year before when the UK enjoyed the hottest June in history.
England’s stunning run of wins at the Euros is largely attributed to the team’s use of pickle juice to relieve cramps. Pickle juice searches on waitrose.com peaked in mid-June, with pickle sales up 7% year-on-year.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is finally coming to the UK. Between June 7 and 22 – the first leg of her UK tour – searches for girls’ sequin dresses rose 357% year-on-year at John Lewis, while searches for sequin skirts jumped 98%.
July
Football fans spend £10 million on beer on the day of the Euro 2024 final, the most spent on a Sunday in more than three years.
Shoppers increased sales of wine by 35%, nuts by 60% and crisps by 10% on Friday at the Olympic opening ceremony, compared to the week before.
Taylor Swift mania continues in full force, with Hobbycraft reporting that online sales of friendship bracelet sets are up 90% between June and August. Bead sales increased by 21% and beading thread saw a 136% increase.
August
Oasis’ comeback tour sold out within hours of dates going on sale on August 31. Throughout the day, hundreds of thousands of fans are queuing online in the hope of buying a first-hand look at the tour, which comes 15 years after the group broke up in a bitter split.
Cucumber sales rose 17.5% at Waitrose in mid-August thanks to TikTok’s influence on young foodies. A cucumber salad recipe by Logan Moffitt (aka the cucumber guy with his 4.8 million followers) is so popular that farmers in Iceland are struggling to keep up with demand
Wingstop announces it will open six more stores this year, adding 300 new jobs to its 2,500-strong workforce, while McDonald’s says it plans to open more than 200 restaurants across the UK and Ireland over the next four years, its biggest ever program expansion for more than 20 years.
September
Deep fryers are now the third most used appliance in British kitchens after toasters and microwaves, according to Good Food’s annual survey.
Due to unusually wet weather in September, sales of hot chocolate increased by 28%, soups by 10%, and homemade pastries by 7%, reports Kantar.
In cold weather, searches for rice pudding recipes increased by 66%, while searches for other warming favorites including plums and blackberries increased by 150%.
October
Halloween continues its growing popularity in the UK, with Kantar reporting that 3.2 million households bought at least one pumpkin, while spend on confectionery reached £525 million, while sales of chocolates and sweets grew by 13% and 7% respectively .
November
Chicken wings, Caesar salads and a Waitrose whole cucumber are the most trending food deliveries in the UK this year, reports Deliveroo.
The UK’s most popular food delivery is the eight boneless wing dish from Wingstop.
December
Freida McFadden’s Housekeeper is Amazon’s UK bestseller of the year, while Rory Stewart’s memoir Politics On The Edge tops the biography category.
John Lewis reports that sales of boxed Christmas cards are down 23% on last year, and sales of individual Christmas cards down 15%. Their fortunes won’t be helped by the fact that a First Class stamp now costs a hideous £1.65.