Breakfast briefing: Retail news on Amazon, Aldi, Lidl and more

Amazon Prime Day triggers high-street price war

Amazon’s 24-hour Prime Day sales event, which is offering discounts on over 100,000 products with new offers every five minutes, has started a price war with high-street rivals in the UK, the Daily Mirror reported.

Currys PC World, Tesco Direct and Argos have hit back by cutting prices, with Argos launching its Big Sale this week and Currys PC World kicking off a 10-day flash sale with free UK delivery.

Tesco Direct has cut prices by up to 50% on toys, and 50% off kitchen essentials.

UK consumer spending slowed in June

British consumer spending slowed in June as bad weather added to uncertainty around Brexit, Reuters reported.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG survey, spending rose by 0.2% last month compared with June last year – but slowed compared to growth of 1.4% in May as poor weather dampened demand for clothing and footwear.

On a like-for-like basis, BRC said sales fell by 0.5% in June versus a year ago, compared with a 0.5% increase in May.

Aldi and Lidl face price inflation due to weak pound

Aldi and Lidl face price inflation due to the sharp fall in the pound as the discounters source more of their products from the continent, the Financial Times reported.

Price inflation at the two groups gives an opportunity to the bigger supermarkets to close the price gap between them.

However, analysts do not expect any price increase for at least a year as the discounters hedge their currency exposures in advance.

Aldi said it remains “as committed as ever to maintaining our position as the UK’s lowest-priced supermarket and offering British shoppers great-quality products at unbeatable prices. This is unchanged by the UK’s decision to leave the European Union and as far as we are concerned, it is business as usual.”

Lidl said it will “continue to invest in our UK expansion plans for new stores, new warehouses and new jobs”.