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UK Consumer Spending Report
View our latest insights on how spending patterns are changing across the UK.
Barclays UK Consumer Spend Report gives you a unique and up to date picture of the nation’s spending habits based on the actual transactions, bringing it to life so you can take action and shape your strategy.
Our latest report looks at UK consumer spending patterns for the 22nd February 2025 to 28th March 2025.
March key insights
Overall consumer spending saw a slight rise in March, as consumers managed their budgets ahead of anticipated bill rises. Despite this caution, confidence in discretionary spending remained strong, with the sunnier weather boosting categories such as garden centres.
Head of Client Insights, Barclays
Essential card spending decreased -2.9% in March 2025 when compared to this time last year, a fall compared to February 2025 (-1.0%). This comes as nearly two fifths (37%) of UK adults were cutting back on spending in anticipation of household bills rising in April. **
Non-Essential card spending increased by 2.2% in March 2025 when compared to this time last year, in line with the growth seen in previous months. This comes as consumers continued to prioritise spending on things they love, such as wellness and travel, whilst cutting costs elsewhere.
Consumers exercised more control over their outgoings in March, cutting back on essential outgoings, whilst still prioritising discretionary purchases
Overall Retail spending decreased -0.2% in March 2025 when compared to this time last year, a fall compared to February 2025 (0.6%). This comes as spend at Supermarkets fell -4.0%, the largest year-on-year decline since April 2022 (-4.5%), as consumers cut back on essential spending in anticipation of household bills rising in April. However, the arrival of warmer weather did boost several other subcategories. Spend at Garden Centres saw the biggest spike since Barclays started tracking the category in January 2024, whilst Food & Drink Specialist stores enjoyed their highest growth since August 2024 as the sunnier weather encouraged the purchase of picnic and BBQ supplies.
Spend in the overall Hospitality & Leisure sector increased by 2.8% in March 2025, in line with the year-on-year growth in February 2025 (2.9%). The Digital Content & Subscriptions category had another strong month, with consumers tuning into popular new series such as ‘Adolescence’ and ‘The White Lotus’. However, consumers are questioning the value of streaming services, with many either cancelling or pausing subscriptions. The Travel sector also sustained its strong growth, with holidays remaining a priority for consumers, despite stretched budgets.
Hospitality and Leisure
Holidays emerge as consumers top unplanned purchase
Spend growth in the overall Travel sector increased by 5.7% in March 2025, an uplift compared to February 2025 (5.1%). In particular, Travel Agents had a strong month with both spend and transaction growth up, at 7.1% and 13.1% respectively, an uplift compared to February 2025, at 5.6% and 10.1% respectively.
Interestingly, three fifths (61%) of consumers say they have spent on non-essential items even when were financially stretched. Holidays emerged as the top unplanned purchase, with one in five (21%) spending on trips they had not budgeted for. Other unbudgeted extravagances included days out (20%) and expensive meals (17%). **
Meanwhile, Bars, Pubs & Clubs returned to growth in the month, up 0.8%, following the negative growth seen in February 2025 (-2.0%), as consumers potentially welcomed the arrival of the warmer weather at pubs and beer gardens. It is hoped that hospitality venues will continue to benefit from the longer, brighter evenings, even as consumers carefully balance their budgets.
Despite stretched budgets, holidays abroad remain a top priority for discretionary spending. The Travel sector delivered another strong performance in March, with many consumers even booking unplanned trips, highlighting the sustained demanded for getaways.
Head of Hospitality and Leisure, Barclays Corporate Banking
Spending on subscriptions remain strong despite cost concerns
The Digital Content & Subscriptions category had another positive month, with spend rising by 5.7% in March 2025, as consumers tuned into popular new series such as ‘Adolescence’ and ‘The White Lotus’.
However, consumers are questioning the value their streaming services offer, with 31% believing that they are now getting less value for money from digital content subscriptions. Of this group, a third (32%) have consequently cancelled a subscription, 16% have paused or suspended one, whilst 14% limit themselves to a limited number of services at any one time to keep costs under control. **
Retail
The sunnier weather provides a welcome boost for Household categories
The sunnier weather provided a welcome boost for several categories in March 2025. In particular, spend at Garden Centres increased by 13.4%, the biggest increase since January 2024, with a quarter (23%) of UK adults planning to garden over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. **
13% of consumers are also earmarking time off for home improvements in this period, reflected by spend in the Home Improvements & DIY category moving into growth this month (0.9%), for the first time since June 2023. The sunnier weather also boosted Food & Drink Specialist stores, with spend increasing by 4.3%, the highest growth since August 2024 (5.1%) as consumers likely purchased of picnic and BBQ supplies.
Meanwhile, Pharmacy, Health & Beauty retailers continued their strong run, with spend rising by 11.0% in March 2025. This is the largest year-on-year increase since April 2022 (13.1%), as consumers continue to follow popular wellness trends and prioritise spending in this area.
As the UK welcomes the arrival of warmer weather, certain sectors are budding. Garden Centres had one of their best performances in March, with consumers planning to enjoy the warm weather and garden over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
Head of Retail and Wholesale, Barclays Corporate Banking
Consumers do ‘big shops’ to keep costs under control
Spend growth at Supermarkets decreased by -4.0% in March 2025, the largest year-on-year decline since April 2022 (-4.5%). The volume of Supermarket transactions also fell in March, down -2.6% following a -3.7% decline in February 2025, suggesting a move away from regular ‘top up’ shops.
50% of consumers say they prefer to do a ‘big shop’ instead of multiple smaller shops throughout the week. Those who prefer a ‘big shop’ cite convenience (52%) and time saving (50%) as the main reasons why, whilst 39% say it makes it easier to budget and keep costs under control. **
Barclays Market and Customer Insights
Barclays Market and Customer Insights unlocks a wealth of customer transaction data and brings it to life so you can take action and shape your strategy.
We can help you keep up-to-date with spending trends, monitor your market position and enhance your understanding of customer behaviour, based on actual customer spending.
Leveraging anonymised data from our 250 million monthly customer transactions in the UK can help you understand who your customers are and how, when, and where they spend.
Contact the Barclays Market and Customer Insights team
Appendix
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Spend growth Transaction growth Essential -2.9% -0.9% Non Essential 2.2% 1.9% Overall 0.5% 0.8% Retail -0.2% 0.6% Clothing 1.1% 3.7% Grocery -3.2% -0.1% Supermarkets -4.0% -2.6% Food & Drink Specialist 4.3% 13.6% Household 2.9% 6.7% Home Improvements & DIY 0.9% -3.9% Electronics 4.6% 18.5% Furniture Stores 1.8% -1.5% Garden Centres 13.4% 6.8% General Retailers 0.3% 0.3% General Retailers & Catalogues 1.7% 0.9% Department Stores -3.2% 0.7% Discount Stores -3.1% -2.7% Specialist Retailers 4.4% -0.1% Pharmacy, Health & Beauty 11.0% 2.8% Sports & Outdoor -3.5% -2.6% Other Specialist Retailers 2.0% -2.7% Hospitality & Leisure 2.8% 0.7% Digital Content & Subscription 5.7% 5.2% Eating & Drinking -0.2% -1.0% Restaurants, Cafes and Bakeries -0.2% 0.5% Bars, Pubs & Clubs 0.8% 1.4% Takeaways and Fast Food -0.8% -4.2% Entertainment 3.5% 3.5% Hotels, Resorts & Accomodation 0.8% -0.9% Travel 5.7% 0.3% Travel Agents 7.1% 13.1% Airlines 7.4% -1.3% Public Transport 2.8% -3.3% Other Travel 2.4% 6.9% Other -1.2% 1.7% Fuel -8.0% -4.4% Motoring -5.0% 6.1% Other Services 4.3% 6.5% Insperience 2.2% 0.7% Online 2.8% 4.0% F2F -1.5% -0.6% -
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Data source
Barclays debit card and Barclaycard credit card transactions in the UK.Data range
The spending data in this report relates to the period 22nd February 2025 to 28th March 2025.
Inclusion criteria:
Customers aged at least 16 in the relevant period. Active customers using card payments in the relevant period (excluding spending on banking products, i.e. mortgages, loans, savings, utilities, tax and gambling).Spending growth calculation:
Percentage difference between total spend per customer in the period 24th February 2024 to 29th March 2024 and total spend per customer in the period 22nd February 2025 to 28th March 2025.Spending categorisation:
- Essential: Childcare, healthcare, insurance, grocery, fuel and public transport spend.
- Other food and drink: cafes, bakeries and any other food and drink establishments that cannot be classified.
- Entertainment: gym memberships and leisure activities such as cinema, family days out, sports and theatre.
- General retailers: selling a wide range of different products, e.g. department stores, catalogue shops, online marketplaces.
- Specialist retailers: selling a particular category of goods, e.g. toy shops, jewellers, sports shops.
- Other services: education, legal, insurance, childcare, post office / delivery, charities and personal services, e.g. hairdressers.
- Insperience: Digital Content & Subscriptions, Takeaways & Fast Food, Hobbies, Crafts & Collections and Online Food & Drink Specialist retailers.**
Note: Starting October 2024, Barclays will report the growth of consumer spending on ‘Restaurants, Cafes and Bakeries’, which is a combination of two former categories: ‘Restaurants’ and ‘Other Food and Drink’. Distinctions between established restaurant chains (previously reported as ‘Restaurants’) and other forms of eateries (e.g. independent restaurants, food stalls, caterers and cafes – previously reported as ‘Other Food and Drink’) have become increasingly blurred, and Barclays believes that the combined ‘Restaurants, Cafes and Bakeries’ category is a better representation of consumer spending on dining out more broadly.
*CPIH: Consumer Prices Index^ including owner occupiers' housing costs,
** Denotes a comment from the consumer confidence survey. The consumer confidence survey in this press release was carried out between 25th and 28th March by Opinium Research on behalf of Barclays. There were 2,000 respondents, providing a representative sample of UK consumers by age, gender, region, and income group.
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