Spending in pubs up by a third

Information from Barclaycard found spending in restaurants were still in decline by 4.3% however, this was an improvement on October (when spending was down 8.3%).

Overall, consumer card spending rose by 16% in November, compared to the same period in 2019 with essential items up by 12.5% – slightly less than in October (13.2%).

Spending at supermarkets was up by 13% and specialist food stores (64.7%) recorded smaller month-on-month rises (14.2% and 69.2% respectively).

Spending on non-essential items saw its highest growth since before the pandemic began to hit of 17.7%.

Consumer spending

This was driven by uplifts across the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with in-store retail spend up 6.7% on October. Clothing recorded its highest increase of 11% since before the onset of the pandemic.

However, consumers were still concerned about the long-term stability of their personal finances with 88% worried about rising household and energy bills and a similar proportion (87%) concerned about rising inflation.

Furthermore, takeaways and fast-food spending was up by almost two thirds (63.2%), digital content and subscriptions by 42.8% and electronics up by 17.2%.

This looks set to continue as more than a fifth (21%) were looking to spend more on takeaways while a similar proportion (19%) are planning to spend more on home entertainment such as streaming subscriptions and online gaming.

Meanwhile, 15% are having or considering a meet-free Christmas – a figure that increases to 28% for 18 to 34-year-olds.

Confidence impact

While rising energy bills are causing 36% of those who celebrate to consider spending less on Christmas festivities, overall household confidence improved slightly month-on-month, rising to 72% (up two percentage points from the previous month).

However, this could be a temporary rise with the arrival of the latest Covid variant, the return of mandatory face masks in some settings and an anticipation by consumers of further restrictions.

Barclaycard head of consumer products Jose Carvalho said: “The arrival of Christmas markets and lights across the UK brought some festive cheer to the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors in November, while the return of darker nights and colder evenings saw Brits spend more on at-home pursuits such as takeaways and home entertainment.

“As we head into final preparations for the holiday season, it is unclear how the new Covid variant and potential further restrictions will impact socialising, shopping and consumer confidence.

“In light of recent changes, we will need to wait and see whether this has an impact on how Brits choose to finish their Christmas shopping this year.”