The Fed and Independent Retail Confederation (IRC) Launch Quarterly Heartbeat Survey

The Fed is once again teaming up with the Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC) to get a feel for recent business treads and the wider outlook. We are asking you how the Q1 2026 compared to the previous quarter and the same period in 2025. We are also keen to understand members’ confidence levels for the next quarter and the rest of 2026.

If you are a Fed member, you can undertake the survey here by clicking the survey here.

We have used the results of the Heartbeat survey in previous Political Engagement. However, the survey is short and takes less than five minutes to complete.

As well as the Fed, the IRC represents approximately 100,000 independent retailers including 20 trade bodies across the UK – including the ACS, BIRA, Booksellers Association – and many more, find out more about the IRC here.