David Milliken

LONDON, (Reuters) – British consumers spent more in November than usual, thanks to earlier Christmas shopping, and a rebound in pub and restaurant spending before the news about the Omicron coronavirus. Industry surveys were released Tuesday.

British Retail Consortium is a trade association representing high-street retailers. It reported that November total sales were 5.0% more than one year ago. This was the largest annual increase since July, and a significant increase from October’s 1.3% increase.

Barclaycard’s separate credit card and debit card data showed that consumer spending, which covers eating out, travel and shopping, was 16.0% more than it was in November 2019 before the pandemic.

Because of the government’s support for household incomes, consumer demand was relatively resilient during the pandemic. However, there were significant shifts in sectors with large amounts of retail spending shifting online and then only partially reversing after shops reopened.

With plane ticket spending at 22.1% lower than two years back, travel remains in decline. Barclaycard data indicated that November’s restaurant spending dropped by 4.3% compared to November 2019. October saw a 8.3% decrease.

Spending on non-essentials increased at an unprecedented rate, rising 17.7% over the previous two years.

But economists expect that household disposable income will be squeezed as inflation increases and payroll taxes rise. This may complicate the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates next Wednesday.

Helen Dickinson is the chief executive at BRC. She said that November’s spending increase was partially due to Black Friday sales promotions, which began earlier in November than usual.

She said that Black Friday was a time when people were preparing for colder weather by purchasing discounted clothes.

Similar-for-like sales (a measure that adjusts for changes to retailers’ floor spaces) were 1.8% higher in November than the previous year. This was compared to a 0.2% fall in October.

Barclaycard found that four in 10 respondents said they did their Christmas shopping sooner than usual.

Jose Carvalho from Barclaycard stated, “The Christmas market and light displays in the UK have brought festive cheer to retail and leisure sectors, while darker nights and chillier evenings led Brits to spend more time at home.”