According to the Barclaycard Consumer Spending Report for 23 August to 26 September 2015 the pub and restaurant industry has seen some double-digit growth in spending – partly thanks to the Rugby World Cup. The sector is expecting to see these figures continue to rise in the run up to Christmas.
Chris Wood, Barclaycard chief operating officer, said: “Whilst the Rugby World Cup helped spend growth recover in September, it remained below both the level of increase we saw last year and the average level we’ve seen this year. Consumers seem to be ‘pausing for breath’ before the run-up to Christmas begins.”
The success of pubs and restaurants is also bucking the wider spending trend, with overall spending for the third quarter of the year actually up by just 3.7% (compared with 4.5% in the second quarter). Barclaycard has suggested that this drop could represent 'a pausing for breath by consumers ahead of the run-up to Christmas.
The report also found that the majority of consumers feel positive about their ability to spend on discretionary items in the upcoming quarter, meaning that the downturn is likely to be a temporary blip.
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