Consumer spending reached just 1% year-on-year growth in December, representing a decline in real terms when accounting for inflation.
Data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, reveals that spending on essentials declined 0.9% in December, with supermarkets contracting by 0.9% compared with December 2018. Petrol expenditure also fell by 0.5%.
Many retailers also continued to see contractions in year-on-year spending: clothing spend was down 3.3%, while specialist retailers such as toys and computer game stores saw a decline of 4%.
However, on a more positive note, spending on non-essentials grew 1.8% year-on-year. Partly driving this growth was eating and drinking, which increased by 9.7% as Brits enjoyed themselves during the festive period. However, the nation prioritised going to the pub (11.7%) and takeaways (12.5%) over eating out, as restaurants saw a 2.6% decline.
Entertainment was also a bright spot, increasing by 5.5%– bolstered by a rise in cinema sales of 19% as crowds flocked to watch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Frozen II – both in the top four performing films of 2019. Digital content and subscriptions services also continue to enjoy strong growth, rising 14.7%.
Following the General Election consumers showed renewed confidence in the UK economy, with four in 10 (41%) indicating they were feeling upbeat – up 10% on November and the highest level throughout all of 2019.
UK consumers also remain upbeat about their household finances, with 70% feeling confident. For those who are more assured in their personal finances than normal, the primary reason is greater certainty around Brexit (33%) and UK politics (30%).
Despite this, just one in five (21%) consumers plan to buy a big-ticket item (such as a new vehicle or furniture) during 2020. Consumers’ reluctance to make any major purchases is reflected in the fact that, if given an additional £100, half of Britons (49%) would put the money aside, into either savings or to pay off debt.
Esme Harwood, Director at Barclaycard, says: “Consumer confidence is finally improving after a long period of political uncertainty. This optimism hasn’t yet translated into high street sales, but spending on experiences continues to grow, with Brits enjoying box office hits and trips to the pub. While consumers remain reluctant to spend on big ticket items, the mood seems to be changing.”
