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Consumer spending by Londoners jumped 5.5% in October

Strong growth in dining out and cinema trips helped to boost consumer spending in London in October, despite worries about a ‘hard’ Brexit and the weakening pound.

The figures, which were released by Barclaycard, analysed nearly half of all the UK’s credit and debit card transactions and found double digit year-on-year increases across a range of sectors.

Cinema spend was up 11.6%, while restaurants saw growth of 10.1% and supermarket spend, which Barclaycard claim makes up a large proportion of the figures, also increased by 2.6%.

However, increases an 8.1% increase in petrol spend and a 14% rise in hotel spend were both attributed to the weaker pound and rising oil prices driving up spend.

Paul Lockstone, Managing Director at Barclaycard, said the figures were the highest since Barclaycard started releasing the data, but warned that, while some increases were a result of consumers willingly opening up their wallets, others can be attributed to rising prices across the board.

He said: “Consumer spending growth hit a record high in October. While growth in some categories, such as cinemas, restaurants and pubs, was driven by consumers willingly opening their wallets, rising prices were also a contributing factor – notably on petrol forecourts and for consumers travelling abroad.”

Consumer sentiment figures released at the same time as the data point towards a collapse in confidence in the UK economy, with many fearing that the plunging value of sterling will drive up prices on everyday goods.

According to Barclaycard, only a third of people feel confident in the UK economy, falling from nearly one in two in September, while 81% of respondents expected prices to rise.

With these figures in mind, Lockstone added: “The backdrop of ‘hard Brexit’ headlines, the weakening pound and high profile issues such as ‘Marmite-gate’ mean consumers are starting to worry about the impact of inflation on their everyday lives.

“As we approach Christmas, an expensive time in many households, many consumers are telling us they plan to rein in their spending to ensure they are able to make ends meet.”