Credit and debit card spending in the week to Dec. 1 – which included ‘Black Friday’ sales promotions – was 13 percentage points higher than a week earlier, according to interbank payments data, which the Bank of England provides to the ONS.
However, spending was flat compared with a year earlier – reflecting a sharp real-terms decline given the high rate of inflation, which hit a 41-year high of 11.1% in October.
Compared with a year ago, spending on commuting and other work-related expenses was up by 16 percentage points and spending on socialising was 5 percentage points higher, but spending on discretionary items such as clothing and furniture was down by 10 percentage points.
Read more at Reuters
