Household spending rises – and luxury goods are making a comeback
Household spending was up in August compared to 2013’s figure, as the economic recovery continues to grow, industry data showed today.
Confident shoppers spent more on luxury goods like hotels and restaurants, as well as splashing out on shoes and clothes, according to figures from Visa Europe.
Overall spending was up two per cent on the year, with a 9.2 per cent jump in spending on hotels, restaurants and bars.
August was also a very good month for the high street as face-to-face purchases increased 2.4 per cent while internet purchases declined by 1.6 per cent due to good weather.
There were healthy signs for basic spending too as clothing and footwear sales rose 5.2 per cent and household goods rose 3.2 per cent.
“Important barometers of underlying spend on clothing, food and household goods all showed positive real gains over the month,” said Paul Smith, economist at Markit.
“This highlights the on-going transition of increased consumer confidence that has been evident in recent months to higher volumes of expenditure in the UK.”