Entertainment-seeking Brits splashed out in August: Barclaycard
Reuters
Published Sep 06, 2021 07:25PM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - British consumer spending jumped last month thanks to a post-lockdown splurge on holidays at home and entertainment, payment card company Barclaycard said on Tuesday.
Spending rose by 15.4% last month compared with its pre-pandemic level in August 2019, marked by higher spending across all categories apart from international travel, Barclaycard said.
Theatres, music festivals and theme parks saw a big jump in spending.
"Socialising, shopping, and staycations were top of the agenda for Brits in August, as families and friends made the most of the school holidays, giving a welcome boost to hospitality and leisure businesses," said Raheel Ahmed, Barclaycard head of consumer products.
Other surveys have pointed to a recent slowdown in Britain's economy after an initial surge following the relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
A separate survey from the British Retail Consortium on Tuesday showed retail spending rose 3.0% in August compared with a year ago, with clothing stores performing strongly - something echoed by the Barclaycard report.
Still, the BRC said this marked a slowdown from annual growth of 6.4% in July.
"As post-lockdown pent-up demand has softened, the growth in retail sales we have seen over the past few months slowed for August. Nonetheless, we still saw growth above pre-pandemic levels, as people returned to stores in greater numbers," said BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.