Upscale or outsource? Taking the next business step
The impact of Brexit on the UK economy is hard to quantify. In the decade since the Conservative Party first promised the British public a vote on the UK’s EU membership, there have been wars, political upheavals and a global pandemic.
Keir Starmer is the sixth Prime Minister in that time (including David Cameron, whose Manifesto began the process) while Rachel Reeves is the eighth Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Brexit remained the biggest issue facing the UK until the outbreak of Coronavirus in March 2020. Two years later, in February 2022, concerns about the economy came to the fore, and have remained top of the agenda almost ever since.[1]
As we reach a decade since the Conservatives’ 2015 Manifesto was published, how has Brexit affected the sales and promotions landscape for the UK and Europe – and have things started to settle down yet?
A brief history of Brexit
On April 14th 2015, the Conservative Party published their General Election Manifesto, which included the promise of “an in-out referendum on our membership of the EU before the end of 2017”.[2]
The EU Referendum took place on June 23rd 2016, with just less than 52% of voters choosing to leave the European Union. Prime Minister David Cameron resigned, and his successor Theresa May triggered Article 50 on March 29th 2017.
Protracted negotiations between the UK and the EU followed, but at 11pm on January 31st 2020, the UK officially left the European Union and a transition period began.
Despite further upheaval created by the COVID-19 pandemic, this transition period ended as planned at 11pm on December 31st, and the UK began 2021 outside of the EU single market and customs union.
Does the UK matter anymore?
While some industries fared better than others, and the physical movement of goods became more difficult after Brexit, concerns that the UK would become an economic outcast have not materialised.
In the advertising industry, for example, the UK generated an estimated 5.8% of global ad revenues in 2024, compared with 4% for Germany and 2.3% for France.[3]
This is not just a consequence of a robust pre-Brexit advertising industry; the UK was also the fastest-growing ad market in Europe in 2024, posting growth of 5.7%.[4]
Whether this is a result of businesses trying to weather the upheavals of Brexit and COVID-19, others capitalising on emerging opportunities in a time of change, or unrelated to either event, it is a powerful indication of the confidence British businesses have in their marketing spend.
The rising popularity of sales promotions in Europe
During this same period, the consumer insights provider Circana tracked sales of 2,000 product segments and over 175 fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) categories in Europe’s six largest markets, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
In the 12 months to February 2024, European retailers and brands increased their sales promotion activity by 15%, leading to more than a fifth (21%) of FMCG being sold on promotion.
At a time when the cost of living crisis was beginning to bite, this yielded an increase in volume sales of 0.7% in the first quarter of 2024.
Circana’s senior vice-president of strategic growth insights EMEA, Ananda Roy, said: “It was the national brands that fired the promotional starting gun. Strategy-obsessed and consumer-focused retailers followed.”
When is a sale not a sale?
If you’re planning to use sales promotions in Europe, it’s important to understand the rules about when you can refer to your promotion as a ‘sale’.
Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament[5] is designed to level the playing field by creating consistent regulations for cross-border B2C commercial practices in EU member states.
In particular, the rules mean that sellers may be prohibited from offering goods at less than cost price, or calling a promotion a ‘sale’ outside of specified times of year.
For example, the EU-funded European Consumer Centre for France[6] advises that the two authorised sales periods in France, called ‘Les soldes’, usually begin:
- At 8am on the second Wednesday in January
- At 8am on the last Wednesday in June
“The sales periods in ecommerce are the same as the national dates for shops,” the ECC adds. “Therefore, even a seller situated in another country has to respect the official dates if they target French consumers.”
Reaching consumers in Europe
The academic thinktank UK in a Changing Europe published a report in September 2024 that showed the EU’s share of total UK trade (imports and exports of goods and services) has grown steadily since Q2 2021.[7]
By Q2 2024, the EU accounted for 52.6% of UK trade, bucking predictions that Brexit would see this share drop.
“While this did initially happen in the first year after the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the share quickly recovered and has remained above 50% of UK trade for the past two and a half years,” the report stated.
In a February 2025 article to mark the fifth anniversary of the UK’s departure from the EU, Stephen Hunsaker wrote for the thinktank: “Post-Brexit, a less expected development was how strongly the EU remained the UK’s largest trading partner, with the share of total trade increasing to above pre-Brexit levels.”[8]
Set your sights on EU sales promotions
It’s often said in casual conversation that Brexit “took the UK out of Europe”, but this isn’t accurate. The UK left the European Union, including the customs union and the single market, but our continental neighbours are still our closest trading partners.
With much EU law copied directly across into UK law upon our departure, the majority of regulations are still very closely aligned and there are many good reasons to make EU sales promotions part of your next campaign.
To find out more about how to do this, contact MRM’s sales promotion experts. We not only have the expertise to work on campaigns targeting EU member states, but also the domestic and international fulfilment capabilities to deliver promotional goods seamlessly to destinations across the continent, in the EU, UK and other non-EU European countries.
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/886366/issues-facing-britain/
[2] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7960/CBP-7960.pdf
[3] https://www.statista.com/topics/3801/advertising-industry-in-europe/
[4] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1391266/change-ad-spend-market-europe/
[5] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2005/29/oj/eng
[6] https://www.europe-consommateurs.eu/en/shopping-internet/sales-periods.html
[7] https://media.ukandeu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Sep-2024-Trade-Tracker.pdf
[8] https://ukandeu.ac.uk/five-years-on-and-brexit-still-defines-the-uk-economy-and-will-continue-to/