Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Barriers to entry
Obstacles that make it hard for a new business to start competing in a market.
What it means
A new supplier might need costly equipment, access to a network, permission to operate or a way to persuade customers to leave familiar providers. These can be barriers to entry. If starting up is difficult, existing firms may face less pressure to keep prices low or improve service. Some barriers follow from the nature of the business; others may result from existing firms' behaviour or rules. A rule can also serve a useful purpose, so its effect on competition is only part of the story.
Example
If setting up a competing ferry route requires an expensive boat and a harbour berth that is unavailable, a new operator cannot easily enter even when passengers are unhappy with the current service.
Why it matters
The threat of a new competitor can matter as much as the number of competitors today. Entry barriers show how real that threat is.
Also known as
entry barriers
Related terms
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Economic rent
An earning above the amount needed to keep a person or resource in its current use.
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Market concentration
How much of a market's sales or activity is accounted for by its largest businesses.
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Market power
A business's ability to influence prices or conditions because customers or suppliers have limited alternatives.
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Monopoly
A market with only one seller of a particular good or service and no close alternative for buyers.
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Monopsony
A market with one buyer and many possible sellers, including workers seeking an employer.
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Oligopoly
A market in which a small number of businesses make most of the sales.
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Price elasticity of demand
How strongly the amount people buy responds when its price changes.
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Rent seeking
Trying to gain or protect an extra reward by securing an advantage, rather than by providing more or better goods or services.
Read more
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News
Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
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A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
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