UK customers appear to be worse hit by the cost-of-living crisis than those elsewhere in Europe, the company behind Poundland has said. Pepco said British shoppers are cutting back on essential purchases as they face a big hit to their disposable incomes.
The company operates in several European countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain and Germany. It said that in central and eastern Europe, the cost of living is being offset by high wage growth, at least in the short term.
In Western Europe wages are not growing, which is pushing down the amount that customers spend. But Pepco singled out the UK as being particularly bad. It said: “In Western European markets the acute spike in inflation in a stagnant wage growth environment has quickly resulted in absolute lower spending by consumers.
