‘This is the most difficult period we’ve had’published at 06:54 BST
06:54 BST
Adam Woods
Economics producer
Image caption,
Brother and sister Boston and Kennady Mace run the Mace Playce indoor soft play centre in Chelmsford Essex
We’ve been in Chelmsford, Essex ahead of this morning’s figures to hear how people are feeling about the economy.
Siblings Kennady and Boston Mace run a play centre and say they’ve noticed families cutting back spending on birthday parties.
“We’ve got our own children so we appreciate how expensive a day out can be,” Boston says. “Everything’s going up…we’ve got a limit on what we can charge so the profit margin is getting smaller and smaller.”
Kennady says she has noticed families paying for activities but not food “which is understandable…money’s a lot tighter,” she says.
She and her brother have to balance “keeping everything reasonable” for their customers with ensuring the business is viable, she says.
Boston says in their 13 years in business they have experienced the Covid pandemic, a fire, a flood and a theft, but “this seems [to be] the most difficult period we’ve had”.