Furniture store spend and transaction growth declined during September as over consumer card spending rose.

According to the latest data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, total consumer spend growth increased 1.8% during September, the smallest uplift since February 2021, and well below the 9.9% rise in consumer price inflation. Transaction growth rose 0.3%.

With the category breakdown, furniture stores saw spend growth decline 6.7%, while transaction growth fell 10.3%.

For home improvement retailers, spend growth fell 6.4%, while transaction growth also declined 7.7%. Department stores saw spend growth and transaction growth fall 3.5% and 1.4% respectively.

Supermarkets were the only sector to see a small uplift (2.8%), a sign that consumers are being more selective about the essential purchases they make.

Esme Harwood, Director at Barclaycard, said: “Energy price increases are understandably causing concern for Brits, as they worry whether they will have enough money to cover their household bills.  Consumers are taking a savvy approach to budgeting as they reduce spending on discretionary items and seek more value in their weekly shop, which is having a knock-on effect on retail and hospitality sectors.

“However, Brits are also looking for ways to enjoy themselves at home while saving money, which has led to growth across “insperience” categories such as digital subscriptions and takeaways. It is likely to remain a challenging time for many other sectors as consumers focus on essential spending and businesses continue to navigate inflationary headwinds.”