Household spending increases on the year in December
- Year-on-year spending rose slightly in December (+0.6%), following the strongest annual increase for five months in November (+1.5%).
- Quarterly spending figures signalled that underlying expenditure improved slightly in December (+0.1%), following a moderate increase in November (+1.1%).
- Month-on-month consumer spending fell by -2.0% in December, following a slight increase in November (+1.0%).
- Non-seasonally adjusted year-on-year expenditure increased markedly through Online spending channels (+6.8%), and slightly in Mail/Telephone Order categories (+0.3%), while Face-to-Face spending declined moderately (-1.9%).
Jeremy Nicholds, Director of Commercial Development at Visa Europe said:
“It was a tale of two Christmases in December as online and high street retailers looked to woo customers in the final weeks of the year. Overall, consumer spending in December registered a +0.6% annual increase, with much of this rise attributed to online spending with the high street faring less well.
“Mega Monday at the start of December signalled the beginning of a very strong month for e-commerce. Online spending generated a +6.8% annual increase in December compared to an annual drop of -1.9% on the high street. Online demand looks to have been significantly boosted by the unfortunate weather in the run up to Christmas Day that saw consumers turn away from trawling the shops in the wind and rain, in favour of a more comfortable shopping experience on a mobile, PC or tablet. Consumers were also shopping online much closer to Christmas than in previous years which shows they continue to gain in confidence regarding the receipt of goods ordered online as well as taking advantage of services such as click collect.
“By the end of the month, the performance of the high street had improved considerably. In the final week of the month, consumers returned to the high street to take advantage of price reductions in the sales, helping to close the year on a high. Spending at the tills increased by +11% in the final week of December compared to last year, whilst online spending grew by only + 4% for the same period.”
