Consumers splash out on holidays and drinks as confidence warms up | City A.M.

Consumers spent more on eating out and long holidays in the second quarter of this year, as confidence warmed up along with the weather.

The shift from cold weather to a long hot summer boosted the amount of money spent on leisure activities by three per cent compared to last year, according to Deloitte’s latest consumer report.

Easing pressure on incomes also helped push spending higher across the board, leading to increases in nine out of 11 categories.

There was some rare good news for the restaurant industry as spending on eating out rose by five per cent on the year.

“The positive leisure consumer outlook is in contrast with news about the struggling high street and political uncertainty,” commented Simon Oaten, partner for hospitality and leisure at Deloitte.

“However, leisure businesses should feel optimistic about the growing confidence and the spending intentions of the leisure consumers, and will need to ensure they make the most of this feel-good factor.”

The England team reaching the semi-final of the World Cup also had a positive effect. Expenditure on drinking in pubs and betting both rose four per cent.

While the team’s progress was good news for leisure spending, their loss to Croatia was even better news for bookies, who dodged a £100m payout which would have been on the cards if England won.

But it wasn’t just watching the football that encouraged Brits to get their wallets out. More people felt the urge to have their own kickabout, with gym and sport spending up three per cent.

The only category to see a decline in spending was short holidays, but long holidays climbed by one per cent.

Read more: Pubs rake in World Cup cash to boost consumer spending