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Trading services were asked how their turnover in January 2026 compared with December 2025, omitting any seasonal trading. Data are outlined in the middle of the period of each wave. Almost a 3rd (31%) of trading organizations reported that their turnover had decreased in January 2026 compared to the previous month.

However, the motions 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 lodging and food service activities industry (52%, which is a 21 percentage point rise from December 2025) the other services industry (45%) the arts, entertainment and leisure industry (40%) Roughly 16% of trading organizations reported that their turnover increased in January 2026, which was a 3 portion point boost compared with December 2025.

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

The exception to this was the percentage for companies 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 change in the coming month. This can then be used to predict how the organization's turnover will actually change when that calendar month concludes.

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Trends in between anticipated turnover and real turnover have broadly moved in the same direction, the motions for expectations tend to be larger. Caution needs to be taken when interpreting expectations concerns, as the workers reacting on behalf of businesses may not have complete oversight of all of their business's future expectations.

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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 but 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 an actual boost in turnover in January 2026 was 16%, suggesting a minor pessimism in organizations expectations.

The trends have broadly followed each other since the concerns were presented in April 2022. The outcomes for March 2026 follow the pattern from previous years, with the portion of businesses expecting turnover to increase peaking after a decrease in January. Larger organizations were most likely to expect an increase in turnover in March, with the percentage varying from 20% for services with 0 to 9 staff members, to 42% for organizations with 100 to 249 workers.

For presentational functions, some response choices have been gotten rid of. Information are outlined in the middle of the period of each wave. Care ought to be taken when translating expectations concerns, as the workers responding on behalf of services might not have full oversight of all of their company's future expectations. "." represents information not yet available.

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

Nevertheless, expectations for turnover to reduce have consistently followed the very same trend, as real reported turnover decreases throughout this time. Trading organizations were asked what challenges, if any, were affecting their turnover in early February 2026. Around 3 in 10 (30%) trading organizations reported that financial uncertainty was having an effect on their turnover, which was broadly stable with early January 2026.

For trading companies with 10 or more employees, cost of labour was the most frequently reported obstacle, at 36%. Businesses with 10 to 49 employees were more most likely to report expense of labour as a challenge than organizations with 250 or more staff members (37%, compared with 20%). One in five (20%) trading services with 10 or more staff members indicated that they were not currently experiencing any turnover obstacles in early February 2026.