Two thirds of retailers to hike prices because of Rachel Reeves’ budget, industry warns

Retailers often employ more staff than most companies, at relatively lower wages and often on tight margins - (PA Wire)

Two thirds of the nation’s top retailers have warned they will have to raise prices to cope with rising tax bills triggered by chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget.

The British Retail Consortium, whose members include giants like Marks & Spencer and Boots, said 67 per cent of the 52 finance bosses they surveyed said they would raise prices in response to increases in employers’ National Insurance Contributions from April.