Why Digital Transformation Redefines Mid-Market Output

Trading businesses were asked how their turnover in January 2026 compared to December 2025, omitting any seasonal trading. Information are outlined in the middle of the duration of each wave. Nearly a 3rd (31%) of trading businesses reported that their turnover had decreased in January 2026 compared to the previous month.

The movements are broadly in line with those observed around this time in previous years, with peaks in December followed by small falls in January. The industries with the highest proportion reporting that turnover reduced in January 2026 were: the accommodation and food service activities market (52%, which is a 21 portion point rise from December 2025) the other services market (45%) the arts, entertainment and leisure market (40%) Around 16% of trading companies reported that their turnover increased in January 2026, which was a 3 percentage point boost compared with December 2025.

For trading services with 10 or more workers, 33% reported that their turnover had actually decreased, which was broadly steady compared to December and January 2025. More than one in five (23%) companies reported that their turnover had increased, up 2 percentage points compared to December 2025. Usually, the percentage of services reporting that their turnover increased correlated to the size of the business.

The exception to this was the percentage for organizations with 250 or more workers, which was 25%, and 5 portion points lower than December 2025 (30%). Trading services were asked how they anticipate their turnover to alter in the coming month. This can then be used to forecast how business's turnover will actually alter when that calendar month concludes.

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Trends in between expected turnover and actual turnover have broadly moved in the very same direction, the movements for expectations tend to be bigger. For presentational purposes, some reaction options have actually been gotten rid of. Information are outlined in the middle of the duration of each wave. Care should be taken when analyzing expectations questions, as the employees responding on behalf of businesses may not have complete oversight of all of their business's future expectations.

ANSR July UK PRs

More than one in five (21%) trading companies anticipate their turnover to increase in March 2026. This is a 6 percentage point rise from February 2026 however was broadly steady compared to expectations for March 2025 (22%). The proportion of trading organizations anticipating a boost in January 2026 was 13%, while the proportion that reported a real boost in turnover in January 2026 was 16%, suggesting a slight pessimism in companies expectations.

The patterns have actually broadly followed each other because the concerns were presented in April 2022. The outcomes for March 2026 follow the pattern from previous years, with the portion of organizations expecting turnover to increase peaking after a decrease in January. Bigger companies were more likely to anticipate an increase in turnover in March, with the proportion varying from 20% for services with 0 to 9 staff members, to 42% for organizations with 100 to 249 staff members.

For presentational purposes, some reaction alternatives have actually been eliminated. Information are outlined in the middle of the duration of each wave. Care must be taken when interpreting expectations questions, as the workers responding on behalf of businesses might not have complete oversight of all of their service's future expectations. "." represents information not yet readily available.

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The proportion of trading organizations that expected a decrease in January 2026 was 25%, while the proportion that reported an actual decrease in turnover in January 2026 was 31%. The proportion of services anticipating turnover to reduce for a particular month ahead of time has actually stayed substantially lower than the percentage of organizations reporting an actual decline because month because April 2022.

Nevertheless, expectations for turnover to decrease have consistently followed the exact same trend, as actual reported turnover reduces throughout this time. Trading businesses were asked what obstacles, if any, were affecting their turnover in early February 2026. Around 3 in 10 (30%) trading services reported that economic uncertainty was having an effect on their turnover, which was broadly stable with early January 2026.

For trading businesses with 10 or more staff members, expense of labour was the most often reported difficulty, at 36%. Businesses with 10 to 49 staff members were more most likely to report cost of labour as an obstacle than services with 250 or more staff members (37%, compared with 20%). One in five (20%) trading companies with 10 or more employees suggested that they were not presently experiencing any turnover difficulties in early February 2026.