William Schomberg

LONDON, (Reuters) – British shoppers faced with an inflation surge cut their spending by most much since early 2021 when the country was under coronavirus lockdown. According to a Tuesday survey.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), total retail spending fell 1.1% compared with a year ago. This is the largest fall since January and reflects an acceleration of April’s 0.3% decrease.

Helen Dickinson (BRC chief executive) stated, “It’s clear that the spending bubble after the pandemic has burst. Retailers face tougher trading conditions, fall consumer confidence and high inflation impacting consumers spending power.”

Dickinson noted that electronics, furniture and high-end goods suffered the most, while fashion and beauty sales increased as people prepare for holiday and summer.

BRC reported that its “like-for–like” retail sales measures, which only covers outlets opened in May 2021 showed a 1.5% decrease in annual spending following a 1.7% contraction.

These figures do not include inflation, which was 9.0% in April. This means that the decrease in goods bought will be greater than the decline in money spent.

Barclaycard’s data showed that spending rose 9.3% in May compared with a year before. This was due to rising living costs and an increase for travel and tourism, both which have suffered from restrictions.

The price of petrol and diesel, which are on the rise in value, caused a 4.8% increase in spending on necessities. Consumers cut down on subscriptions and digital content by almost 6% in response.

Barclaycard, echoing BRC data said that furniture spending fell 3.1% between April and May.

Restaurant and bar spending decreased by approximately 6% and 11%, respectively, during this month.

Jose Carvalho from Barclaycard’s consumer products department stated that “the cost-of living squeeze clearly influences discretionary spending habits.”

“Despite these, there’s some good news, especially in the travel industry. Brits continue to be more interested in going overseas as the summer approaches.

Travel spending nearly tripled between May 2013 and May 2014, when there were many restrictions on international travel. Agents reported an increase of 24% in travel sales in May over April.