Quick links: United States | Major Indices | Indices Future | Real-time Commodities | Webinars | Coronavirus | Economic Calendar
Economic Indicator
9 Nov 2021
UK Shoppers Overlooked Inflation and Raised their Spending Even More
The Index Today
British shoppers improves and grow their spending in the month of October despite concerns about surging inflation, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
The data released by the British Retail Consortium said that the retail spending rose by 1.3% compared with October 2020, recovering some momentum after growth slowed to just 0.6% in September when a lot of spending shifted away from shops to panic-buying of fuel caused by a shortage of tanker drivers.
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, which produces the data with the BRC said that, "The much-reported squeeze on household spending has yet to materialize as consumers seem happy to carry on shopping."
Martin added that the limited availability of stocks was creating "strong pricing dynamics" and meant discounts were unlikely in the Christmas season.
Barclaycard added that the spending on entertainment jumped as cinema-goers flocked to see the latest James Bond film and there were also increases in spending on digital subscriptions and on travel as restrictions lifted.
Its surveys currently do not compare sales with 2020 because of distortions caused by pandemic lockdowns.
©Photo: ft.com
