Consumers spend more on going out as costs on essential reduce

Visa’s Expenditure Index for March, to be launched on Monday 13 April, shows people across Britain are increasingly dining out and going out. An embargoed copy of the report is attached here and headline findings are below for you:

Headline findings:

– Household expenditure rises +1.1% year-on-year in March and +1.3% month-on-month

– Strong spending increases on recreation, culture and at hotels, restaurants and bars

– But spend on clothing and footwear drops for fourth month in a row

Commented on January data, Kevin Jenkins, managing director UK & Ireland at Visa Europe said: “We’ve seen a gradual improvement in consumer confidence in recent months, driving higher spending on household goods, recreation and eating out. A dry March, coupled with low inflation and real wage increases has continued that trend. People across Britain are increasingly dining out and going out, though spending remains prudent rather than excessive.

“Elsewhere in the economy, clothing retailers remain under pressure after a fourth straight month of spending decline. Summer lines, the May bank holidays and good weather ahead will be looked on with hope as well as expectation.”