CONSUMER SPENDING

COVID-19 SPECIAL: BARCLAYCARD

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE CORONAVIRUS TUNNEL?

THE LATEST MONTHLY BARCLAYCARD REPORT WAS PUBLISHED YESTERDAY AND SHOWS THATCONSUMER SPENDING FELL ONCE AGAIN IN JUNE, BUT WITH THE SMALLEST DECLINE SINCELOCKDOWN BEGAN. IS THE BEGINNING OF THE END IN SIGHT, ASKS ANTONY BEGLEY?

A 14.5% decline in consumer spending isn’t something that would normally be celebrated, but under current circumstances the fact that spending only fell that far in June actually represents a positive shift. This is the smallest decline in consumer spending since lockdown began, as recorded by Barclaycard’s monthly Consumer Spending Report.

The report is based on Barclaycard’s own data, which includes hundreds of millions of transactions and covers nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card activity, so is pretty robust.

While the decline in spending seems to be halting, month-on-month figures now show an uplift as more and more retail outlets start reopening. So is the light at the end of the tunnel starting to appear on the horizon?

SAFETY THE STOPPER

While there’s no denying that the latest figures represent some sort of progress, there are plenty of signs that the road to recovery is going to be more of a slow burn than an overnight explosion. Over half of consumers (56%) are continuing to avoid the shops. Three in 10 (31%) admit to delaying shopping because they are afraid of getting or spreading coronavirus, while 18% say they are put off by crowds.

In other words, it’s safety and hygiene concerns that are the biggest blocker for shoppers at this point,

FASTSTATS

14.5% decline in consumer spending in June

6.6% increase on spending on essential items in June

online grocery spend up 105.9% YOY

56% of shoppers still avoiding shops

18% encouraged to return thanks to new social distancing rules

30% of consumers not planning a foreign holiday this year

41% have job security concerns