Online restaurant spending Up: Barclaycard

Pubs and restaurants return to levels seen earlier this year with a rise of 11% and 12.1%, respectively.

Data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, reveals that consumers continued to manage their spending cautiously following months of rising prices and stagnant wage growth.

Consumer spending grew 2.8% year-on-year in November – below the annual rate of inflation of 3% and maintaining the muted levels seen throughout the second half of 2017

Paul Lockstone, managing director at Barclaycard, said, “Consumer sentiment has deteriorated over the last couple of months after a prolonged period of falling purchasing power. Against this backdrop, it’s not surprising that consumers continue to spend conservatively, leading to a second successive month of contraction in real terms. While entertainment spend brought some welcome relief, growth on essentials outstripped expenditure on nice-to-haves for the third month in a row, indicating that shoppers are prioritising carefully. Nevertheless, the search for value continues with Brits seeking sales and discounts, making the most of their budget during the festive season – as we saw with a strong performance on Black Friday.”

Overall growth of restaurant rose to 12.1%, while its in-store reached 10.7%.