Consumer spending dives as high street visits decline - Visa, BRC-Springboard
Last month saw a sharp drop in consumer spending, which combined with weak shopper footfall numbers to paint a bleak picture for retailers on Monday.
Consumer spending fell 2.0% in October compared to September, the quickest rate of decline since for four years, according to Visa card spending data compiled by IHS Markit.
This was the fifth fall in spending in the past six months, driven by a 5% fall in face-to-face spending and the weakest e-commerce spending growth in the last six months or 2.2%.
Clothing and footwear spending collapsed 9.0% month-on-month, with no bigger fall in the survey's nine year history, while hotels, bars and restaurants grew 3.2%.
Visa cards, the company says, account for more than £1 in every £3 spent in the UK.
Furthermore, data from the British Retail Consortium and Springboard showed footfall in October decreased 2.0% year-on-year, the lowest rate since the EU referendum in June last year.
This figure was below the 3-month rolling average of -1.4% and the 12-month rolling average of -0.5%.
Visa's commercial chief, Mark Antipof, said the figures "are a stark indicator of the strain on household budgets even before the Bank of England’s recent interest rate rise".
He went on: “Retailers will now be pinning their hopes on strong performance around Black Friday and Cyber Monday [24 and 27 November]. November’s data will therefore provide the first real clue on how Christmas is shaping up.”
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said the fall in shopper footfall in October mirrors the month’s paltry sales performance.
"Even retail parks, which have continually bucked the trend until now, struggled to attract as many visitors as the previous year.
“The picture improved slightly for town centre vacancies over the last quarter, but this is to be expected in the lead up to Christmas as landlords are inclined to offer more flexible short-term lets to prop up their rental income over the festive period."