AUGUST TRADE NEWS Bad weather blamed for shopping centre delay Chester council  not supporting retailers New rules 'won't help save retail centre' Irish shoppers look abroad for bargains British consumers spend more on beauty products Yorkshire town gets behind plastic bag reduction scheme Rising obesity prompts calls for VAT rule changes eBay restructures fee scheme to make fixed-priced sales cheaper Online sales boom despite slowdown Music retailer goes out of business Matalan named and shamed for how it treats wholesalers BCC slams higher parking charges proposals Booming wholesaler moves to new warehouse Market traders told to only 'shout quietly' London's retailers show growth despite gloom Counterfeit goods dealer sentenced to prison UK's smallest town protests supermarket plan More retailers and wholesalers going out of business Online retail sector predicted to expand rapidly Henley retailers protest development plans Retail sales continue to slow Tiffany appeals US court's eBay ruling Report criticises electricity suppliers' treatment of small businesses MK retailers protest Tesco expansion plan Yorkshire retailers protest supermarket move Manchester wholesaler shut down over fraud worries Businesses welcome plans to reduce red tape Rate hold accepted by small businesses Internet sales put pressure on the high street Huge counterfeit goods haul in Somerset Irish entrepreneur online retail plans Wholesaler sector set to struggle Staycations could help British retailers Retailers 'gloomy' about economic outlook Retailers report footfall continues to decline as consumers cut back Hidden door reveals huge counterfeiting operation in Manchester shop No recession for the UK this year East London wholesaler goes into receivership London mayor reveals plans to support small retailers Toy retailers defy gloom Retailers urged to embrace online sales Trade News Archive August 08 July 08 June 08 May 08 April 08 March 08 February 08 January 08 Subscribe to our newsletter   Go to The Wholesaler UK Directory 5th August 2008 Staycations could help British retailers The rise of the so-called 'staycation' could be good news for domestic retailers. As the financial implications of the credit crunch begin to take hold, more and more British consumers are opting to forgo expensive foreign holidays in favour of domestic breaks, research has suggested. In fact, the latest data from LV= showed that 71 per cent of parents are concerned about their personal financial situation and that 58 per cent are opting to stay in the UK for their holidays this year as a result. One camping site owner from Wales explained to the BBC that bookings were soaring this year. Dave Beynon, of Three Cliffs Bay Holiday Park on the Gower, explained that domestic holidays could "buck the trend because [they're] inexpensive". The switch to domestic holidays could potentially provide welcome relief to beleaguered retailers in popular domestic vacation spots. Earlier this year, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported that retail sales surged in May thanks to sunny weather and short breaks. "As the sun came out so did shoppers, boosting sales of summer food and drink and particularly clothing which had been struggling," BRC director general Stephen Robertson explained.   (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Sponsor of August Trade News Cantilever TV Brackets   Comment on this news story To comment on any story please click on the above link, put the story title in the subject line and please provide your name, trading style ie. retailer or wholesaler and the town where you trade.