Consumer card spending subdued in February but beauty sales on the up

Overall UK consumer card spending increased just 1% in February, a slight rise from 0.8% in January, but growth in non-essential spending reached a six-month high of 1.8%, with clothing sales up 3.7% and pharmacy, health and beauty sales up 6.4%.

That’s according to the latest data from the Barclays Consumer Spend report, which combines hundreds of millions of customer transactions with consumer research to provide an in-depth view of UK spending. The report also revealed that essential spend declined 0.6% in February.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence in the UK, European, US and global economies all fell following the recent outbreak of conflict in the Middle East. Approximately four in five UK adults are concerned about its impact on inflation (78%), fuel costs (82%) and energy prices (81%), while over half (56%) are worried about potential disruption to travel.

Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays, said: “February’s data highlights the careful balancing act shoppers face in navigating rising costs amidst global uncertainty.

“While we’re seeing a continued appetite to spend on categories such as entertainment and wellness - obtaining value for money and savvy spending will remain a strong focus in the months ahead.”

Elsewhere, growth in spending on digital content and subscriptions reached its highest level since August 2021, at 12.2%, driven by ‘streamflation’ and popular series such as ‘Love Story’ and ‘Bridgerton’, as well as the rise of emerging premium subscriptions such as AI and fitness apps.

Entertainment grew 9.9% in February, an 11-month high, due to spending on live shows and concerts increasing 14%, with transactions peaking on 30 January when tickets to Harry Styles’ sell-out ‘Together, Together Tour’ went on sale.

Looking ahead, one in three (33%) consumers say health and fitness is a top spending priority for them this year, and 53% say they’re focusing more on their wellbeing.

Across its issuing and acquiring businesses, Barclays sees nearly 40% of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, which provides a unique insight into UK consumer spending.

The latest data relates to the period of 23 January - 19 February 2025 versus 23 January - 19 February 2026.

The Barclays Consumer Spend research was carried out between 24-27 February and 4-7 March by Opinium Research on behalf of Barclays. There were 2,000 respondents in each round of research, providing a representative sample of UK consumers by age, gender, region and income group.