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UK Consumer Spending Report
View our latest insights on how spending patterns are changing across the UK.
Barclays UK Consumer Spend Report gives you a unique and up to date picture of the nation’s spending habits based on the actual transactions, bringing it to life so you can take action and shape your strategy.
Our latest report looks at UK consumer spending patterns for the 16th November 2024 to 23rd December 2024.
December key insights
Overall spend remained flat in December as consumers managed their budgets amid inflation concerns. Nonetheless, consumers were still able to set funds aside, and treat themselves and loved ones to joyful experiences over the festive season.
Head of Client Insights, Barclays
Essential card spending decreased -3.0% in December 2024 when compared to this time last year. This comes as consumers made cutbacks due to inflation concerns, with nine in 10 adults saying that they were concerned about both rising food prices (86%) and household bills (87%). **
Non-Essential card spending increased by 1.5% in December 2024, an uplift compared to November 2024 (0.8%). This comes as consumers treated themselves and loved ones to joyful experiences over the festive season, whilst cutting back on essential spend.
Fuel spend growth was -11.6% in December 2024 when compared to this time last year. This comes as we are providing a comparison with a period when fuel prices were at record highs this time last year, due the invasion of Ukraine, combined with global fuel supply issues.
Seasonal discounts boost retail spending, while consumers make cutbacks on eating and drinking out
Overall Retail spending fell -0.2% in December 2024 when compared to this time last year, less than the decline seen in November 2024 (-2.0%). This comes as gift shopping and seasonal sales boosted growth at General Retailers, as consumers snapped up bargains in the wake of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Meanwhile, in light of consumers being concerned about rising food prices, Supermarket spending slowed down and fell -2.0% in December 2024, as 64% of consumers say that they are looking for ways to get more value from their weekly shop or reduce how much they spend. **
On the other hand, spend in the overall Hospitality & Leisure sector increased by 3.5% in December 2024, although this is fall compared to November 2024 (4.7%). This comes as consumers looked for ways to make savings in December, with almost half (49%) saying that they plan to cut back on eating out in restaurants, while 38% said they were looking to reduce how much they spend on drinks in bars, pubs and clubs. This, combined with “quad-demic” illnesses taking hold, meant both categories saw modest growth in December 2024, with Restaurants, Cafes & Bakeries up just 1.1%, while spending at Bars, Pubs & Clubs climbed 1.3%, down from 2.1% and 3.5% respectively in November 2024.
Hospitality and Leisure
The Entertainment and Travel sector end the year strongly
The Entertainment sector continued its strong run, with spend rising by 6.0% in December 2024, as Christmas concerts and pantomimes drew in audiences throughout December. Box-office hits ‘Wicked’ and ‘Moana 2’ also coaxed consumers out of their houses to the silver screen, with spending at cinemas up 52.1% in December 2024 compared to this time last year.
The small screen also proved popular in the month, with spend on Digital Content & Subscriptions rising by 7.5%, as the colder, stormy weather seen across the country in December encouraged consumers to shelter indoors and enjoy new popular releases such as ‘Black Doves’ and ‘The Day of the Jackal’.
The Travel sector also finished the year strongly, with spend rising 4.7% in December 2024. This comes as consumers took last-minute trips and made the most of the early arrival of fresh powder at ski resorts across Europe. 74% of consumers also plan to travel in 2025, suggesting this momentum will continue into the new year. **
The Entertainment sector ended the year on a strong note as Christmas concerts and pantomimes drew in audiences throughout December. The Travel sector also closed strongly as consumers took advantage of holiday deals offered in late November.
Head of Hospitality and Leisure, Barclays Corporate Banking
New year, new resolutions for consumers
As we enter 2025, health and fitness are high on the agenda for those making New Years resolutions, with almost one-third (31%) of this group stating so in the latest Barclays Consumer Confidence Survey. Financial wellbeing is also a clear priority, with 27% of those setting goals for 2025 wanting to save more each month. **
On a related note, 35% of consumers plan to participate in ‘Dry January’ this year, with 39% of this group doing so because they are trying to be healthier, while 22% want to reduce their spending on alcohol. **
Retail
Seasonal sales boost certain retailer categories as consumers snap up bargains
Overall Retail spending fell -0.2% in December 2024, although this was an improvement compared to the decline in November 2024 (-2.0%). This comes in the wake of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as gift shopping and seasonal discounts spurred growth of 1.6% at General Retailers, following a -1.7% decline in November 2024.
With the latest technology always a firm fixture on gift lists, spending on Electronics was also boosted by the seasonal sales, increasing by 0.8% in December 2024, an improvement compared to November 2024 (-3.0%).
Meanwhile, with temperatures dropping in December, growth in online shopping outpaced in-person sales, with online retail spend (excluding groceries) growing 2.6%. In comparison, face-to-face retail (excluding groceries) declined -1.2% in December 2024. One in five (17%) consumers also reported shopping online more frequently in the month, opting to do Christmas shopping from the comfort of their homes. **
Whilst the cold weather did hamper high street footfall in December, gift shopping and seasonal discounts boosted spend at General Retailers. Consumers also spruced up their homes ahead of Christmas, with Garden Centres and Furniture Stores both having strong months.
Head of Retail and Wholesale, Barclays Corporate Banking
Consumers make home improvements ahead of Christmas
With house-proud consumers gearing up to start the New Year afresh, spending at Garden Centres blossomed in December 2024, rising 3.1% as seasonal discounts encouraged people to invest in small “tweakments” and outdoor decorations for their gardens. Christmas tree purchases also likely contributed to this boost.
Furniture Stores also saw an increase in spending, up 1.7% in December 2024, the category’s highest level of growth since March 2022 (11.8%), as consumers shopped for gifts and home improvements ahead of Christmas. Meanwhile, Pharmacy, Health & Beauty retailers finished the year on a high, at 5.8%, having performed strongly throughout all of 2024.
Barclays Market and Customer Insights
Barclays Market and Customer Insights unlocks a wealth of customer transaction data and brings it to life so you can take action and shape your strategy.
We can help you keep up-to-date with spending trends, monitor your market position and enhance your understanding of customer behaviour, based on actual customer spending.
Leveraging anonymised data from our 250 million monthly customer transactions in the UK can help you understand who your customers are and how, when, and where they spend.
Contact the Barclays Market and Customer Insights team
Appendix
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Spend growth Transaction growth Essential -3.0% -3.0% Non Essential 1.5% 2.0% Overall 0.0% 0.1% Retail -0.2% -1.2% Clothing -0.7% 0.2% Grocery -1.9% -2.9% Supermarkets -2.0% -2.5% Food & Drink Specialist -0.9% -4.6% Household -0.3% 5.0% Home Improvements & DIY -3.1% -3.9% Electronics 0.8% 14.5% Furniture Stores 1.7% 4.3% Garden Centres 3.1% 0.4% General Retailers 1.6% 0.5% General Retailers & Catalogues 2.5% 0.5% Department Stores -0.6% 1.7% Discount Stores 0.2% -0.7% Specialist Retailers 1.8% -1.5% Pharmacy, Health & Beauty 5.8% -0.5% Sports & Outdoor -2.5% -4.2% Other Specialist Retailers 0.5% -1.9% Hospitality & Leisure 3.5% 2.8% Digital Content & Subscription 7.5% 5.2% Eating & Drinking 1.1% 0.7% Restaurants, Cafes and Bakeries 1.1% -1.1% Bars, Pubs & Clubs 1.3% -0.3% Takeaways and Fast Food 0.9% 3.6% Entertainment 6.0% 13.2% Hotels, Resorts & Accomodation 3.6% 1.0% Travel 4.7% 3.4% Travel Agents 7.5% 17.8% Airlines 3.6% -0.8% Public Transport -0.3% -1.0% Other Travel 6.2% 12.7% Other -4.0% -1.8% Fuel -11.6% -6.5% Motoring -7.4% 3.8% Other Services 2.4% 0.6% Insperience 3.3% 4.0% Online 2.3% 3.4% F2F -1.7% -1.4% -
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Data source
Barclays debit card and Barclaycard credit card transactions in the UK.Data range
The spending data in this report relates to the period 16th November 2024 to 23rd December 2024.
Inclusion criteria:
Customers aged at least 16 in the relevant period. Active customers using card payments in the relevant period (excluding spending on banking products, i.e. mortgages, loans, savings, utilities, tax and gambling).Spending growth calculation:
Percentage difference between total spend per customer in the period 16th November 2024 to 23rd December 2024 and total spend per customer in the period 16th November 2023 to 23rd December 2023.Spending categorisation:
- Essential: Childcare, healthcare, insurance, grocery, fuel and public transport spend.
- Other food and drink: cafes, bakeries and any other food and drink establishments that cannot be classified.
- Entertainment: gym memberships and leisure activities such as cinema, family days out, sports and theatre.
- General retailers: selling a wide range of different products, e.g. department stores, catalogue shops, online marketplaces.
- Specialist retailers: selling a particular category of goods, e.g. toy shops, jewellers, sports shops.
- Other services: education, legal, insurance, childcare, post office / delivery, charities and personal services, e.g. hairdressers.
- Insperience: Digital Content & Subscriptions, Takeaways & Fast Food, Hobbies, Crafts & Collections and Online Food & Drink Specialist retailers.**
Note: Starting October 2024, Barclays will report the growth of consumer spending on ‘Restaurants, Cafes and Bakeries’, which is a combination of two former categories: ‘Restaurants’ and ‘Other Food and Drink’. Distinctions between established restaurant chains (previously reported as ‘Restaurants’) and other forms of eateries (e.g. independent restaurants, food stalls, caterers and cafes – previously reported as ‘Other Food and Drink’) have become increasingly blurred, and Barclays believes that the combined ‘Restaurants, Cafes and Bakeries’ category is a better representation of consumer spending on dining out more broadly.
*CPIH: Consumer Prices Index^ including owner occupiers' housing costs,
** Denotes a comment from the consumer confidence survey. The consumer confidence survey in this press release was carried out between 13th and 18th December 2024 by Opinium Research on behalf of Barclays. There were 2,000 respondents, providing a representative sample of UK consumers by age, gender, region, and income group.
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