Barclays Consumer Spend news and archive

Card spending sees its greatest fall since 2021 in November

Consumer card spending fell -1.1 percent year-on-year in November in the UK, marking the greatest fall on record since February 2021 (-9.5 percent), as consumer confidence remains subdued, according to findings from Barclays. Amid ongoing consumer uncertainty, essential spend dropped -2.9 percent, marking seven consecutive months of decline,...

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Business

British consumers cut back on spending ahead of the budget

October data from Barclays Consumer Spend report reveals that British consumers are cutting back ahead of the autumn budget, as essential spending drops for the sixth consecutive month and confidence in both personal finances and the wider economy continues to soften. Barclays reveals that all seven measures of consumer and economic confidence...

Retail

Consumer card spending increases 4.5 percent in April

The warm weather in the UK and the late Easter weekend boosted essential and non-essential spending in April, according to Barclays' monthly Consumer Spend report. Barclays reports that consumer card spending grew 4.5 percent year-on-year last month, the biggest uplift since June 2023, and above the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.4 percent, for...

Retail

January storms boosted online and non-essential spending in the UK

Essential spending returned to growth in January after four consecutive months of decline, while wellness and social media trends drove discretionary purchases, according to new data from the Barclays Consumer Spend report. Despite falling consumer confidence in the UK economy, down five percentage points to 21 percent, spending on essential...

Featured

Retail

December sales boost fails to save UK retail’s “Golden Quarter”

Christmas fails to save 2024 trading, as new data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG International reveals that UK total retail sales for the year increased by just 0.7 percent from 2023, while non-food declined by 1.5 percent. For the three months to December, known as the “Golden Quarter,” sales growth was 0.4 percent...

Retail|Beauty

Barclays says consumers adopted a “treat yourself” attitude in 2024

Looking back at 2024, Barclays said that essential spending in the UK grew just 0.9 percent, down from 3.9 percent last year, as British consumers prioritised spending on affordable treats and experiences. Barclays’ data reveals that non-essential spending increased 1.9 percent, as consumers’ strong appetite for “little luxuries” boosted health...