Christmas spending up but behind 2016, Mastercard

Although this Friday and Saturday will be the two busiest shopping days of the year for the UK High Street, Brits are cutting back on a number of areas in the run-up to Christmas, such as premium goods. This is being driven by higher prices, a rise in interest rates and a lack of consumer confidence, according to Mastercard Spending Pulse’s latest figures.

This year’s festive season spending has seen just 3.1% growth, but online retailers are experiencing the best of this with a 12% lift on last year, consistent with its growth over the last three months (between 11% and 12%). How people pay for their shopping in-store is also evolving, this year one in three of all purchases by card will be done with a tap, giving contactless payments a 98% increase on the same period last year.

Scott Abrahams, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Mastercard UK & Ireland says: “The migration from High Street to online shows consumers are continuing to look for the savings that online shopping can deliver, which promotions like Black Friday have only heightened.”