UK card spending shows pre-Christmas pick-up

People carry shopping bags as they walk past Christmas themed shop displays on Regent Street in London, Dec 4, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

LONDON  – British consumer spending on credit and debit cards picked up in cash terms in early December, in line with usual seasonal trends, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday after releasing a range of weekly data.

Credit and debit card spending in the week to Dec. 1 was 13 percentage points higher than a year earlier, according to interbank payment data for major retailers, provided to the ONS by the Bank of England.

Separately, debit card provider Revolut reported that spending by its customers was up by 4 percentage points in the week to Dec. 4 and was 17 percentage points higher than a year earlier, the ONS said.

Neither set of figures is adjusted for consumer price inflation, which was 11.1 percent in October, so the real-terms increase in purchases is smaller.