Alright, let’s dive into the rollercoaster that is British consumer spending. Buckle up; this ride ain’t smooth, but it’ll get us somewhere. March — what a month, am I right? Consumer spending limped along, kinda like when you’re trying to jog but the wind’s all up in your face. Numbers crawled upward, just barely. The British Retail Consortium, bless ’em, piped in with their data. Retail sales nudged up 1.1% from last year — more of a quiet shuffle than a sprint, evenly matching February’s antics. Like-for-like sales, those stubborn things, stayed frozen at 0.9%. Yawn, right?
Enter Helen Dickinson, BRC’s big cheese, singing praises of food and non-food resilience. Apparently, us Brits still want stuff, geopolitical boogeymen or not. She hinted at our appetite quietly beefing up. Maybe we just really fancy a good Scotch egg these days; who knows?
But hang on a sec—along comes Barclays with a party-crasher vibe. They’ve got this broader view, seeing all our debit and credit card escapades. What’s their verdict? Consumer spending just eked up by 0.5%. Less pep in its step, falling behind February’s 1.0% and barely a whisper in inflation’s shadow. Curious note here — while supermarkets took a nose-dive of 2.6%, garden centres and niche food spots got a bit of love thanks to sunny skies. Go figure.
And then there’s Jack Meaning, the oracle of Barclays. Picture him furrowing his brows, warning us of even drearier days. His crystal ball? Predicts the spending party stays chilled till mid-2025. Maybe after that, if the stars align and interest rates chillax, things might perk up by 2026. Cross your fingers, folks.
So, here we are, in this oddball consumer spending saga — not quite bleak, not overly cheery. More like holding our breath and seeing where this wibbly-wobbly economic tale takes us next.
