BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The imaginary basket includes a wide variety of items available from UK shops: from chicken nuggets to wrapping paper. An el-cheapo cycle helmet was added to the basket in 1995 and has been there every month since. The Office of National Statistics tracks the prices of the many listed items and tots up consumer and retail price indices.
Items in the extremely large, metaphorical basket are reviewed annually, with items added or removed in order to match people’s changing lifestyles. The cycle helmet has been removed as it’s now considered by ONS as a ‘low weighted’ item.
CTC’s technical officer said ‘low weighted’ "is when the proportional spend is less than 0.5 parts in a thousand. At that level it becomes difficult to justify the retention of an item in the basket."
A bicycle is still on the list.
