Can Plymouth Businesses Look Forward to a Prosperous 2019?

With the start of a new year, now is a time to look ahead to see what 2019 will bring for the businesses of Plymouth. While it is true that there is a great deal of uncertainty in the air over Brexit which is a concern for many, there is still a lot to be positive about for business owners in the Plymouth area over the next 12 months.

Disposable Income

This positivity comes from taking a look at the UK households disposable income statistics and what the projections are for 2019. The stats showed that disposable personal income increased to £340,827 million in the third quarter of 2018 up from £340,476 million in the second quarter of the year. It is predicted that by the end of this quarter, Disposable Personal Income in the UK will be at £337,100 and will rise to £342,200 million in a year's time. Looking ahead even further, econometric models predict that Disposable Personal Income will climb to £361,400 million in 2020.

Retail Trade Statistics

Businesses in the area can also take positives by looking at the retail trade statistics year on year. Retail trade increased an impressive 3.6% in November 2018 from a year earli-er beating the market expectations of 1.9%. Additionally, consumer spending reached an all-time high in the third quarter of 2018 climbing to £336,079 million. This goes to show that consumers are still spending despite the uncertainty in the air over Brexit and businesses should be optimistic about the year ahead from looking at the current and projected figures.

Lending

It appears that consumers are starting to feel better about their personal finances over the course of the year with some becoming more willing to make larger purchases. Addi-tionally, many consumers have turned to loan providers such as Likely Loans to fund purchases which goes to show that the public will find ways to consume and make “big ticket purchases”. Consumer credit increased to £924 million in November from £754 million in October 2018 but it is predicted that consumer credit will trend around £213,000 in 2020.

As the statistics and projections show, there is a lot for Plymouth businesses to be op-timistic about over the next 12 months with disposable income on the rise. There is a lot of doom and gloom in the air with the uncertainty of Brexit and increased cost of living painting a bleak picture. While it is important to keep a close eye on what happens with Brexit this year, Plymouth businesses should also focus on attracting consumers and providing the best possible products/services. People will continue to spend and there could be a lot of money to make in 2019 for businesses in the local area.