A new survey from the CBI has found that shoppers might face the biggest price rises in over 30 years amid widespread shortages.
“Christmas seems to have come early for retailers, with clothing and department stores in particular seeing a big upward swing in sales volumes in November,” said Ben Jones, CBI economist.
“Overall, retailers are becoming more optimistic, with both employment growth and investment intentions picking up strongly. Cost pressures remain a very real concern, however,” he added.
Businesses are also increasing prices as the cost of production is also rising.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, commented: “Looking ahead, higher CPI inflation, coupled with the withdrawal of government support at the end of the third quarter, will weigh on real disposable incomes.”
