Consumer spending in restaurants grew 8.7% in 2018, study says

Extreme weather patterns and the ongoing political and economic uncertainty have been driving the overall spending.

Consumer spending on restaurants during 2018 has increased by 8.7%, ranking second to pubs who’ve seen the most growth at 11.2%.

According to a research by Barclaycard, overall consumer spending in 2018 has increased by 4% year-over-year from 3.5% last 2017. Spending on food & drink also went up by 4%.

Other categories include petrol, cinema & theatre and airlines at 6.7%, 6.3% and 6.2% respectively.

Barclaycard also mentioned that 2018’s shifts in purchasing patterns was due to the extremes in weather as well as political and economic uncertainty. Spending growth surpassed 5.0 during summer for three consecutive months, driven by the international football tournament World Cup.

“Spending remained relatively robust in 2018, with strong growth in entertainment spending balancing continued struggles on the high street. The weather played a key role, with the long hot summer driving spending, while the colder weather kept consumers from the shops earlier in the year,” Esme Harwood, director at Barclaycard, said.

“Ongoing political and economic uncertainty has begun to have a marked impact on how people feel about their finances. Confidence in the UK economy and confidence in household finances both dropped to their lowest levels in October and November respectively.”