This year’s golden quarter must be one of the most uncertain ever faced by retailers and some fear it cannot live up to its name as they confront a raft of headaches.

On top of the HGV driver shortage has come wider labour availability challenges, such as in warehouses, as flagged by Next  boss Lord Wolfson. All that is in addition to the ongoing disruption of everyday life evidenced by the run on petrol as spooked consumers raced to fill their tanks.