The catwalk didn't really throw up one big-ticket item for next spring either.

Can we make a resolution to buy a big-ticket item of furniture that's not grey in 2017?

I tend to buy big-ticket items and pay for travel with this one.

General insurers have found their add-on policies - cover sold alongside big-ticket items, such as cars - under scrutiny in the past year.

It has been hit by the recession as shoppers delay purchasing big-ticket items such as carpets amid fears over unemployment.

We now have a new government and the threat of huge spending cuts, particularly for big-ticket projects with little obvious immediate benefit.

Companies may also shed older assets or quit entire regions to focus their spending on big-ticket projects that will bring long-lasting production on to the books.

The other obvious casualties are the sort of big-ticket projects that typically take five years to complete and at least seven more years to produce an economic return.

As households cut big-ticket purchases such as holidays and cars the need for credit has fallen.

Both will be aware that, no matter how good forward bookings are, an expensive foreign holiday remains one of the more easily deferrable big-ticket purchases.

The survey also showed consumers more reluctant to make big-ticket purchases, such as televisions, than at any time since 1991, during the last recession.

The index for big-ticket purchases fell by eight points to -1.

Big-ticket purchases like cars are just the kind of thing that should have enjoyed a bit of a post-election bounce from a pick-up in consumer confidence.