Travel agents saw their highest uplift in consumer card spending last month since May, outstripping general trends, new data reveals.
Consumer outlay with agents grew by 9.6% year-on-year in October, against 9.9% in May, according to Barclays. This came with transaction growth of 12.3%.
The travel sector in total – up 10.5% – had another strong month, making it one of the best-performing categories in 2023, Barclays disclosed.
Spend with airlines was up by 12.9%, with transactions rising by almost 24% over the same month last year.
Meanwhile, hotels, resorts and accommodation saw 7.4% growth in spending, with transactions up by 3.5%
Overall consumer card spending grew just 2.6% in October, the smallest increase since September 2022, as concern over rising energy bills and outgoing costs ahead of the festive period hindered discretionary spending.
Spending on non-essential items grew just 2% in the month – the smallest uplift since September last year – as discretionary spending was reined in.
Barclays said: “On a brighter note, the Rugby World Cup boosted pubs and bars for the second month running, while the travel sector performed well as holidaymakers booked getaways in the UK and abroad.”
Looking ahead, more than a third (36%) of people expect that this Christmas will be more expensive than in 2022, and a fifth (21%) have concerns about keeping up with outgoing costs during the festive period.
As a result of the rising cost-of-living, two fifths (37%) expect they will spend less on Christmas gifts this year, while just 13% anticipate spending more, research by the bank found.
Barclays director Esme Harwood said: “Brits cut back on non-essential categories such as clothing and restaurants in October, as thoughts turned to saving for Christmas and budgeting for winter fuel bills.
“The unseasonably warm weather also hampered spending on indoor experiences, including digital streaming services and takeaways. However, pubs, bars and clubs still achieved strong growth, boosted by England’s performance at the Rugby World Cup, while the travel sector benefitted from a rise in holiday bookings.”
The banks. Uk chief economist Jack Meaning added: “It looks as though the oomph continues to go out of squeezed UK consumers.
“The latest transaction data shows they are pulling back from discretionary spending and increasingly worried about their future ability to spend, adding to the picture painted by other data.
“Third-party consumer confidence data showed a significant drop in October, coming off the back retail sales contracting significantly in September. While some of these effects might be being amplified by unseasonal weather, it’s hard to dismiss the growing evidence.”