Visa Consumer Spending Index October 2019

Visa's UK Consumer Spending Index dipped 1.1% in October, marking 13 consecutive months of decline. Growth in ecommerce spending bucked the decline in stores, reflecting how shopping habits favour online.

Although the overall rate of decline softened in October compared to last month, spending volumes fell in all but one of the eight categories monitored. Household Goods (-2.7%) was the weakest performing category, followed by Misc. Goods & Services (-2.4%), Transport & Communication (-1.4%) and Clothing & Footwear (-1.0%). More marginal declines were faced by Food, Beverages & Tobacco (-0.7%) and Health & Education (-0.4%).

Hotels, Restaurants & Bars (-0.4%) also suffered a slight drop in spending volumes, marking its first decline since early 2011. Recreation & Culture (+0.3%) was the only category to record growth, albeit against a weak 2.2% decline last year.

Visa Consumer Spending Index – October 2019

Source: Visa

The decrease in overall spending in October was driven by weak spending in-store, which has seen no growth since September 2018. Face-to-Face expenditure slipped back 2.4% in October, while Ecommerce spending edged up 1.1% following to months of decline.

It is important to note that Visa expresses growth in volume terms. Adjusting for inflation means Visa’s overall spending data was broadly in line with figures released by BRC-KPMG for October, but below the 3.7% like-for-like rise reported by BDO in the month.

Visa Consumer Spending Index – Three months to October 2019

Source: Visa, (note – data not adjusted for seasonality)

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