Strong pub and restaurant growth in September, says Barclaycard

Pubs and restaurants performed well in September as year-on-year consumer spending grew by 3.9%, according to new data from Barclaycard.

The entertainment sector recorded it strongest growth since June 2017, fuelled by a 11.5% increase in pub sales and 9.5% growth in restaurant turnover.

Meanwhile, essential spending, including food and petrol, via Barclaycard saw a 4.6% growth, a fall from 6.9% in August and 8.7% in July.

Looking ahead, nearly half of consumers said they are planning to spend less in Christmas than they did last year, while more broadly, 62% confirmed they lacked confidence in the UK economy.

Esme Harwood, director at Barclaycard, said: "We've seen spending return to a more modest level as consumers balance their budgets after a longer than usual summer of spend. Rising prices are having an impact on shoppers' spending priorities, with more of their household budget devoted to everyday essentials such as petrol.

Nearly half of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions involve Barclaycard.

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