Weddings are becoming a bigger spending event and social media is driving the change, but are all these extra costs necessary for the big day?

In this episode of The Shopping Forecast, Catherine and Elizabeth welcome their first ever guest, Lucy Hitchcock, founder of Partner in Wine and content creator, to talk about all things bridal consumerism. From wedding merch and hen dos to the pressure to create a picture-perfect day for social media, they unpack just how much the wedding industry encourages us to buy.

Lucy talks about her own year and a half immersed in bridal fashion, from choosing pieces she could wear again to deliberately avoiding personalised products that would end up gathering dust. They discuss the rise of bridal merch, how social media has changed expectations around weddings, and whether the pressure to make your big day look perfect online is making weddings more stressful.

They also look at the businesses making the most of the bridal boom and the companies selling products for every stage of the wedding journey. After experiencing an elaborate hen do herself, Lucy admits that some of the things she once thought had gone too far suddenly made a lot more sense when it was her turn.

Plus: Lucy's accidental career as a fashion content creator, learning how to dress for your body, a very clever Duolingo bag collaboration, the eye-patch packaging drama, and why looking good on a dog walk might actually make you feel better.

The Shopping Forecast is a podcast that proves shopping is about so much more than what's in your basket.

To hear more from us follow The Shopping Forecast!

Get in touch with us at info@theshoppingforecast.co.uk

Youtube: Subscribe to our channel The Shopping Forecast to watch the video version https://www.youtube.com/@TheShoppingForecast

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Find Elizabeth

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethstilesuk/

Website: https://www.elizabethstiles.co.uk/

Podcast: The Fashion Brand Clinic https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-fashion-brand-clinic-podcast/id1456543176

Find Catherine

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientretailclub

Website: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/

Podcast: The Resilient Retail Game Plan https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/

Find Lucy Hithcock

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucyhitchcock

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partnerinwineuk

Website: https://www.partnerinwine.co.uk

What actually happens when a high street retailer goes bust? In this episode of The Shopping Forecast, Catherine and Elizabeth get into the murky world of retail administration. From Harvey Nichols and Paperchase to Topshop, Debenhams and Coast, the collapse of a high-street name doesn't necessarily mean the end of the brand — but it can mean a very different future for the people and businesses behind it.

What does it mean when a brand is bought out of administration, and what exactly are the buyers getting? Why can a famous name, website, customer database or intellectual property be more valuable than the shops themselves? And when a business can effectively start again under a new legal entity, who ends up bearing the cost?

They also unpack the increasingly entertaining rivalry between M&S and Aldi, from Colin and Cuthbert the Caterpillar to dupe culture, premium ranges and the battle for the same shoppers. Can M&S protect its premium positioning while competing with Aldi on value? And as Aldi makes everyday shopping feel increasingly special, can M&S remain the destination for those little luxuries?

Plus: the surprising things our pets actually want, leopard-print coats, customer loyalty, perfume-inspired laundry products, AI-generated adverts, why fashion deserves to be taken seriously as a career, tiny photo printers, robot hoovers and the eternal question: is a £400 vacuum actually worth it?

The Shopping Forecast is a podcast about why we buy what we buy — and what our shopping habits reveal about us.

To hear more from us follow The Shopping Forecast!

Get in touch with us at info@theshoppingforecast.co.uk

Youtube: Subscribe to our channel The Shopping Forecast to watch the video version https://www.youtube.com/@TheShoppingForecast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshoppingforecast/

Find Elizabeth:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethstilesuk/

Website: https://www.elizabethstiles.co.uk/

Podcast: The Fashion Brand Clinic https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-fashion-brand-clinic-podcast/id1456543176

Find Catherine

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientretailclub

Website: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/

Podcast: The Resilient Retail Game Plan https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/

Weight loss drugs are everywhere, but their impact could be affecting our shopping habits too. From clothing sizes and restaurant menus to beauty treatments and tailoring, a major shift in our bodies could mean a major shift in what we buy.

In this episode of The Shopping Forecast, Catherine and Elizabeth get into the surprisingly complicated relationship between weight loss drugs and retail. Are shoppers buying more clothes because they feel more confident, or less because they don't know what size they'll be next? Will retailers have to rethink their traditional size curves? And could the rise of GLP-1s accelerate the demand for flexible, adjustable and more forgiving clothing? And how much control do we actually have over what we buy?

From holiday souvenirs and the music playing in a shop to price anchoring, scent, storytelling and the fantasy of our ‘future selves’, Catherine and Elizabeth reveal just how easily our surroundings can influence our spending, and why the person you're shopping for might not always be you.

Plus: Zendaya's Odyssey wardrobe, the rewards programmes that are actually worth it, cigarettes making an unwelcome comeback in fashion branding, phones that seem designed to die, expensive sandals, impulse purchases and the surprisingly compelling world of mulch.

The Shopping Forecast is a podcast about why we buy what we buy — and what our shopping habits reveal about us.

To hear more from us follow The Shopping Forecast!

Get in touch with us at info@theshoppingforecast.co.uk

Youtube: Subscribe to our channel The Shopping Forecast to watch the video version https://www.youtube.com/@TheShoppingForecast

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshoppingforecast/

Find Elizabeth:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethstilesuk/

Website: https://www.elizabethstiles.co.uk/

Podcast: The Fashion Brand Clinic https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-fashion-brand-clinic-podcast/id1456543176

Catherine

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientretailclub

Website: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/

Podcast: The Resilient Retail Game Plan https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/