Furnishing spend grows despite inflation concerns
February 8, 2022
Consumer spending on flooring, furniture and home improvement continue to grow strongly in January despite growing concerns over cost-of-living increases, says the latest data from Barclaycard.
While card spending rose 7.4 per cent in January compared to the same period in 2020, the furnishing sector saw more than double that rate with a 16.9% increase.
Overall, however, data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, shows spending on non-essential items experienced noticeably smaller growth in January (6.1 per cent) than in December (11.5 per cent), likely due to the combination of continuing Covid concerns and the continued rise in the cost of living.
"This comes as nearly nine in 10 Brits say they’re concerned about the impact of rising inflation on their household finances, while three in 10 (30 per cent) say they expect increasing household bills to affect the amount they spend on discretionary purchases," says Jose Carvalho, Head of Consumer Products at Barclaycard.
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