Web Trader MT5
The UK retail industry’s main trade association. Founded in 1992, members include all the supermarket majors (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Asda, Morrisons), big high-street names, online players, and a long tail of smaller retailers.
The BRC plays two roles. The visible one is policy advocacy; the BRC negotiates on behalf of members with HM Treasury and Whitehall on tax, employment law, planning, and trade policy. The less visible but maybe more important one is data publication. The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor and the BRC Shop Price Index come out monthly and arrive earlier than official ONS retail data, which makes them important leading indicators for UK macro analysts.
The BRC also runs the Global Standards programme, which sets food safety and packaging standards used by retailers worldwide as part of supplier audits.
Example: When the BRC Shop Price Index showed annual food inflation peaking near 15% in spring 2023, the data hit gilt yields and sterling within hours of release; well before the ONS confirmed similar figures in its CPI print weeks later. The BRC numbers don’t replace official statistics, but they often move markets first.
