Household spending continued to increase in November, with growth led by hotels, restaurants & bars (+8.5% year-on-year), recreation & culture (+4.8%) – which includes theme parks, cinemas and books stores – and clothing & footwear (+3.5%), according to the latest Visa Europe UK Consumer Spending Index data.
However, the annual rate of growth slowed from +2.1% in October to a 21-month low of +1.1%, which the company said partly reflected a particularly strong spending performance in November 2014.
Expenditure also rose on the monthly and quarterly measures, and at faster rates than in October, suggesting that underlying spending trends remain positive.
Face-to-face spending fell modestly in November (-1.5%), after a slight increase in October (+1.0%), against a rise in e-commerce spending in November (+4.1%).
Kevin Jenkins, UK & Ireland managing director Visa Europe, said: “All eyes were on Black Friday but spending for November as a whole confirms the trends we saw at the tail end of the month. Online spending surged, driven by double digit spend increases on the big weekend amid continued appetite for mobile, laptop and tablet shopping.
“The high street as a whole suffered a disappointing month, though our data suggests a flat, rather than declining performance on Black Friday itself. How long it takes for a Christmas stampede and how much appetite consumers have left following days of discounting should emerge in the next few days. It’s already clear though that the big winners this year were retailers who got their integrated offering right.
“Face-to-face wasn’t all doom and gloom in November though and winners on the high street did emerge. Brits tucked into meals and a tipple after shopping as hotels, bars and restaurants saw spending leap another 8.5% year on year. And the appetite for entertainment remains strong as we enter pantomime season with a 4.8% jump in recreation and culture spend.”
Channel data indicated a robust rise in e-commerce spending in November (+4.1% on the year), as has been the case for just over two years. Meanwhile,
