According to InMobi’s survey, even those who have been late starters in the m-commerce industry trust that they can use mobile platforms to make large purchases. This is a sure indicator that m-commerce is going to become quite influential in the mainstream consumer section over the next few months. It is believed that this growth in trust has been driven by an increase in the number of smartphones and tablets available.

According to the survey, 71% of respondents will use m-commerce in the next 12 months. While those who have begun using m-commerce early into the trend are willing to spend at least £50 on mobile purchases, consumers who are late to the trend will spend in the region of £20. These figures are certainly promising, and are set to rise further. It is believed that these figures are driven by users finding it easy to use smartphones and tablets for media purposes. Social networking sites have been particularly instrumental in driving this rise in m-commerce use, as 21% of those surveyed said they used their phones for this purpose.

When compared with other forms of advertising, m-commerce cannot be ignored. Just 48% of consumers surveyed claimed to be responsive to TV advertising, and 55% said they would respond to PC advertising. This means that those who want to market their products can plug an advertising gap by utilising m-commerce.

As it is clear that mobile advertising is becoming increasingly instrumental in influencing consumer spending decisions, it makes sense for businesses to take advantage. As the field of mobile advertising develops, it remains to be seen just how effective it can be in driving advertising campaigns.

Aside from being high in sugar, other cereal bars analysed were found to have a high fat content. For example, the Tracker Roasted Nut bar was one third fat, and six out of seven bars aimed at children were laden with saturated fats. Finally, one bar targeted at children–’Monster Puffs’–contained over 40% sugar.

In order to determine how unhealthy each cereal bar was, Which? chose to measure them against the nutritional traffic light system. This system grades food products against a colour scheme of green, orange, and red. While green is the healthiest, orange foods should be consumed cautiously, and reds very sparingly. Out of all the cereal bars tested, ‘Nakd Apple Pie’ was found to be completely sugar free. The Alpen Light’s apple and sultana bars received three green lights for sugar, fat, and salt content.

After completing their analysis, Which? have urged those who market such products to make them healthier before targeting children. Which?’s director Richard Lloyd pointed out that those who are choosing healthy snacks often opt for cereal bars while labouring under the misaprehension that they are always going to be the healthiest option. As it appears that is not the case, it is down to manufacturers to begin producing healthier alternatives that meet the expectations of consumers. In response to Which’s statements, Kelloggs replied stating that they were confused as to why people would class their ‘Elevenses’ bar as a cereal bar. The spokesperson commented that it looks like a cake and is not intended for breakfast time use, and should therefore not be criticised by Which?.

When compared with the rest of the food service market, the development of the eating out industry has far surpassed other areas of the industry. Overall, the growth of the eating out market has been attributed to the expansion of available services, an increase in the number of people choosing to eat out, and price inflation. Dominating the market growth is the fast food industry, with sandwich outlet Subway seeing a particularly steep rise in sales. In 2012, Subway increased their outlets by 134, while Dominos added a further 102 stores to their chain.

Despite the successes of 2012, and the predicted five year growth pattern, food outlet operators are still having to fight hard for their margins. Operators are now having to spend more on obtaining consumer spend, and there is an ongoing fight to increase productivity. As 45% of consumers do not feel confident about their future income levels, and 62% exercise fiscal caution when eating out, those who operate in the eating out industry will need to continue working hard in order to take advantage of the predicted successes between now and 2017.

Regardless of these concerns, it appears that eating out is an aspect of life that British consumers have grown accustomed to. Although the overall spending at lunchtime has dropped by £0.27 per meal, it has increased by £1.26 per meal at dinner time. With these reductions in spending has come an increase in the number of times customers choose to eat out. Four-point-five lunches a week are now eaten out, as well as 2.7 dinners, and 1.7 breakfasts. Such sales have been influenced by operators improving the range and price of products on offer, particularly when it comes to breakfast.

None of those who took part in the survey stated that they would make expensive purchases through m-commerce. Their reasons for this included wanting to see larger images on a PC screen. In addition to this, those who shop for groceries online also showed little interest in using m-commerce, as the small screens on their phones made the process tedious and more time-consuming than they would like.

The survey conducted was designed to cover all social groups. Out of the women who were surveyed, the majority stated they would use voucher apps in the morning on the way to work to check for deals. The men surveyed said they had never used such apps. Ninety-percent of women surveyed would use apps that had been recommended by friends and family, and 100% claimed to use shopping apps, but rarely used them to purchase clothes. The majority of those surveyed stated that they used apps during time that would otherwise be wasted, such as when commuting, standing in queues, or eating lunch.

The survey conducted by Which? found that the majority of consumers would not mind paying for plastic bags. In Wales, shoppers already pay 5p per bag. The Welsh campaign has led to some retailers distributing 80% less bags. In England, there are around 17 plastic bags in each home. According to Which?, nine out of ten surveyed claimed to already reuse bags from previous shopping trips. Which? also found that consumers felt as though supermarket retailers did not do enough to encourage shoppers to recycle the bags they had already used at their in-store bag recycling points.

According to those who did not feel they should have to pay for bags, around 45% felt as though they were entitled to receive them for free. In addition to this, seven out of ten consumers believed that they already paid too much for their shopping, and that paying for bags would only increase their grocery bill. Which? concluded that supermarkets in England now need to focus on doing more to ensure consumers do not use bags frivolously. The survey covered 1,000 people overall.

The report discovered that over a million new customers have turned to charity shopping. Mothers with young children, in particular, are some of the most popular customers as they rely on charity shops for cheaper second hand toys and clothes. One in four of those polled by the survey said they will be affected by the government’s decision to cut child benefits and that they have been depending on charity shops as a result. Over half the population said that they had bought something from a charity shop in the last year and the figures are expected to rise even further within the next year.

However, with more than 5,500 charity shops in the UK, many branches are struggling to receive enough donations to supply the increased demand. The report revealed that one in five of those surveyed choose to sell their clothes and unwanted household goods, rather than give them to charity. These goods can be worth millions to charities, and the Charity Retail Association (CRA) are urging people to continue to donate.

The success and growth of charity shops has drawn criticism from some high street chains. Charity shops are eligible for tax breaks which require them to pay only 20 per cent of business rates. Retail experts have suggested such tax breaks would benefit small business and encourage growth in the struggling retail sector.

The Department for Communities and Local Government wants to reassure local businesses that they are crucial to the economy and that local convenience stores have not been forgotten. Mr Pickles has announced that he wants to turn these stores into thriving local beacons, rather than hanging-out places for louts. The new guidance will offer government support and practical advice to local shops so that they can work together to create thriving local opportunities. The plans also reveal a new act called “The Community Right To Bid”. This will give community groups the opportunity to bid on places that have gone out of business in their locality. These assets, which may include local pubs or village shops, cannot be sold by the owner during a six month period. This gives the community time to draw up proposals and raise capital to invest in the places themselves.

However, despite his well-intentioned sentiments, Mr. Pickles has come under criticism for being patronising to local business owners who have long been struggling. The scheme offers no new money to waning shopping parades and many feel that they are already doing the best that they can in the tough economic climate. Roberta Blackman-Woods, Labour’s Shadow Communities and Local Government Minister, says that the advice is unhelpful and customer’s simply lack the confidence to shop because of the poor economy.

Although local cafes, grocery shops and newsagents are growing at a faster rate than high street chains and branches, they are still feeling the pressure of bigger competitors such as online retail and big shopping outlets.

Banks have always taken a much simpler approach than retailers when selling new products to customers. New credit card or mortgage offers are available to new and existing customers alike, depending on their credit profile. However, the banks have detailed customer data at their disposal that they are not using. The data can be analysed to determine their customer’s current spending habits and financial histories. It is common for customers to own several credit cards, all from different banks. Currently, customers lack the incentive to use one specific cards when making purchases, instead opting for whichever one has money available. Banks hope that these new plans will encourage customers to use their cards for transaction, in a mutually beneficial way.

Banks cannot make customers spend money that they don’t plan on spending. But, if they know that a customer is going to make a costly purchase in the future, they may be able to encourage the customer to use their credit card for that transaction by offering them a short period interest free period for purchases. This offer is uniquely beneficial to the customer and the bank will benefit from the transaction. Similarly, if a customer’s records show that they have been shopping for DIY goods recently, the bank can offer a £10 or £20 credit to the card holder if they spend more than £100 or £200 in the next month at a specified DIY store.

Although credit institutions are a mature industry, it is a fiercely competitive market. Banks have had this data available to them for a long time, and they hope to use it in new beneficial ways.

Current formal sacking procedures can take time, and businesses can incur costly legal fees in the process. The new “settlement agreements” can be offered to employees who may be facing misconduct or performance reviews. Rather than go through tribunal proceedings, the employees can accept a cash payout to vacate their employment. It is proposed that this will be beneficial for employer and employee alike. The employer is able to quickly and cheaply get rid of staff they no longer require, and the employee can leave with financial peace of mind and without tribunal blemishes on their work history.

Employees will be free to refuse any cash payouts. In such cases, the new proposals will also introduce a workplace arbitration procedure. Rather than go through costly employment tribunals, a less formal workplace approach will be implemented to handle employment disputes. It is hoped that this will resolve problems and settlements in a much speedier manner.

However, since it was first introduced in the Queen’s speech in May, the bill has faced tough criticisms. Rather than create happier employer and employee relationships, it is speculated that these measures will impact on job security and confidence in the workplace. Although voluntary, employees may feel pressured if they can accept a payout or face a tribunal. Similarly, it is anticipated that problem employees may hold out for cash sums knowing that employers are keen to avoid tribunals.

The service allows customers to easily pay for goods or services without the need to insert their card and type in a pin. Instead, customers can simply wave their card over a receptor on a specially designed terminal. This will allow holders of contactless supported bank cards to instantly pay for transactions up to £20.

Along with retailers, more and more banks are supporting the contactless technology. Many new debit and credit cards are issued with the new chip which allows contactless terminals to quickly identify the card and automatically deduct money from the bank account. HSBC is the latest bank to embrace the technology and its new current cards all come with the new chips. It follows in the footsteps of Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays in issuing the new cards to customers.

It is expected that the contactless payment technology will encourage more and more consumers to use their cards for low-value transactions. Similar developments have been made with mobile phone applications, as PayPal has announced that they will be installing scanners in clothes stores owned by the Aurora Fashions Group. These scanners will allow customers to pay for goods via their mobile phone. The phone app is linked to the user’s Paypal account and can be accessed via a unique pin. The app generates a unique barcode which can be read by the shop’s specially installed scanners. When scanned, this barcode automatically deducts the amount from the user’s Paypal account, and the transaction can be completed without an available phone signal.