Consumer card spending in the UK declined by 1.1 percent year-on-year in November, marking the largest drop since February 2021, according to data from Barclays. The decline was greater than the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.8 percent. Essential spending fell for the seventh consecutive month, down 2.9 percent, while non-essential spending decreased by 0.3 percent—the first such drop since July 2024.
Despite this overall slowdown, retailers experienced their busiest day of the year on Black Friday (November 28), with transaction volumes up by 62.5 percent compared to an average day in 2025. Food and drink merchants also saw a boost in transactions during Black Friday, increasing by 28.9 percent versus the year-to-date average, even though food and drink spending for November overall was down by 1.1 percent.
Spending on digital content and subscriptions rose by 3.5 percent, driven partly by popular shows such as Stranger Things and Pluribus.
Pharmacy, health and beauty sectors continued to grow, with a rise of 6.1 percent in November. Forty-five percent of consumers reported focusing more on wellbeing this year; among those aged 18-34, this figure rose to 57 percent. Spending related to wellness—including gym memberships and weight loss drugs—was notably high among these groups.
Trends indicate younger consumers are shifting behaviors: forty-two percent of those aged 18-34 have chosen more low-and-no alcohol or functional drinks recently; over half have reduced nights out; and nearly half now prefer socializing through activities that support health or combine exercise with meeting friends.
Looking ahead to Christmas, thirty-eight percent expect to drink less than usual during the festive season—a number that rises to forty-eight percent among younger adults—with cost-saving cited as a reason for some reducing consumption.
Many shoppers have noticed 'drinkflation'—where alcoholic beverages become smaller or contain less alcohol but cost the same or more—as well as 'shrinkflation' affecting products like chocolate tubs and biscuit tins during the holidays.
The top annoyance for shoppers is shrinkflation (44%), followed by hard-to-cancel subscriptions (41%) and drip pricing (38%). Twenty-seven percent expressed frustration with dynamic pricing models that increase prices based on demand; thirty-nine percent supported government plans to ban event ticket resale for profit within entertainment industries.
Consumer confidence remained subdued in November after all seven measures tracked by Barclays declined in October research conducted between November 21st-25th found confidence in household finances at sixty-four percent—slightly higher than October but below both last year's figure and the average for this year so far.
Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays said: “November was a month marked by uncertainty, as consumers were awaiting seasonal discounts and the details of the Autumn Budget. Retailers will have welcomed the Black Friday boost they received, which will hopefully set the tone in the run up to Christmas.”
Jack Meaning, Chief UK Economist at Barclays said: “Even with a boost from Black Friday, consumer spending remained muted as we moved through the final quarter of the year. 2025 has been defined by this economic deceleration. The question remains as to whether easing interest rates and falling inflation can offset this trend and spur a rebound in consumer spending, or whether tightening fiscal policy and continued uncertainty will see the malaise continue in 2026.”
Barclays compiles its Consumer Spend report using hundreds of millions of customer transactions along with consumer research carried out between October 26th–November 22nd each year among two thousand respondents representative across age groups, gender, region and income level.