Pubs, restaurants, garden centres and clothes stores win in early summer spending spree
Consumer spending roared back in May with shoppers celebrating the arrival of warm weather by splashing the cash in pubs, restaurants and garden centres.
The latest spending data from Barclaycard showed consumer spending jumped 3.6 per cent after weak figures for March and April saw growth fall to a two-year low.
Spending in pubs jumped by 15 per cent, while restaurants also raked in 12 per cent more than in April as the double bank holiday and a dose of warm weather helped UK shoppers part with more of the cash in their pockets.
DIY shops, garden centres and clothes stores also benefited as people got their gardens, houses and wardrobes in order for the summer season.
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The survey also shone a light on the divergence between perceptions of how people believe the UK economy is performing and how comfortable they feel. While 60 per cent of consumers said they felt good about their household's finances – a three point jump on last month – just 30 per cent said they were confident about the wider UK economy.
Barclaycard pointed to a mixed bag of economic headlines including "slowing wage growth, flat-lining employment rates and ongoing uncertainty about the outcome of the EU referendum," as weighing on wider economic sentiment.
However, these figures show that such concerns do not appear to be holding consumers back. And, with recent economic surveys suggesting output in the manufacturing and construction sectors remains weak, these figures could allay some concerns that growth in the UK economy might fall flat in the UK economy.