Summer sales pay off as retail spending continues to rise

Consumer spending on cards saw a near double digit increase in July compared to the same month last year, challenging concerns that consumer confidence has dipped.

According to new figures released today by Barclaycard, traditional summer discounting by retailers appears to have enticed consumers back to the high street, with the amount spent on credit and debit cards, in-store and online, increasing by 9.9% in July compared to the same month last year.  Year-on-year figures have steadily increased since the start of 2010, with July representing the third month in a row that these figures have increased by more than 9%.

The figures run contrary to recent reports of a dip in consumer confidence - including the British Retail Consortium's Index of Consumer Confidence suggesting that a gap exists between what consumers say about their financial prospects and how they behave, with spending on the high street remaining strong.

Stuart Neal, Head of Barclaycard UK Payment Acceptance said: "If consumer confidence is taking a hit, it's not happening on the high street.  If spending remains at this level compared to last year, 2010 could prove overall to be a very good year for retailers."

Compared to June, spending increased slightly in July by 1.9%, partly through consumers taking advantage of the earlier start to summer sales and July having 31 days compared to June's 30 days.

The Barclaycard Spending Index is based on spending on all credit and debit cards, across 44 retail sectors at retailers that use Barclaycard Payment Acceptance to process these transactions for them.  Barclaycard Global Payment Acceptance processes credit and debit card payments for 85,000 businesses in the UK, around 30% of the UK market.