I passed my local petrol station yesterday. No need to fill up – I’d done so a couple of weeks before – but I was shocked to see petrol now 20p per litre higher than my last visit.
Shocked, but not surprised. News of conflict in the Middle East and its impact on global energy prices has been unavoidable in recent weeks.
The end of March also brings another annual reality check. Council tax and water bills land, and April’s first payment is always higher than the month before.
At Gusto Research, we regularly track how people feel about their finances – and right now, households are clearly tightening their belts and making savings where they can.
Against that backdrop, football fans hoping to celebrate this summer’s World Cup have had another shock. Nike has announced the pricing of the new England kit.
The tournament has already attracted criticism for ticket prices. The cheapest final tickets are over £3,100, with England group games starting at around £200.
And the costs don’t stop there:
- Adult shirt with name: £104.99
- Older child kit (shirt + shorts): £122.99
- Infant kit: £64.99
I watched my first World Cup in 1986, collecting Panini stickers at 12p a pack and despairing as Diego Maradona’s ‘hand of God’ knocked England out.
The World Cup should bring people together. But right now, it feels like some brands haven’t quite read the room. Pricing research is one of our core areas of expertise at Gusto. And with the agility of a smaller agency, we help brands find the balance between commercial reality and customer expectation – without needing to “sell the shirt off your back” to afford it.
If you’re thinking about how your pricing lands in the current climate, we’d love to talk.
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