Pub and restaurant customer spend at slowest growth in seven years

Latest figures from Barclaycard’s consumer spending insight has shown that consumer spending at pubs and restaurants was at it lowest level of growth since 2011.

Despite March showing an increase of spend by 7.2% at restaurants and 7.7% at pubs, it was a dip in growth compared to February (9.7% and 10%).

The month was also impacted by the cold weather as 45% of consumers said it led to them rein in on leisure and experience spending.

Despite the slowdown in March, overall expenditure for the quarter was relatively stable with growth of 3.1% in Q1, down only slightly from 3.2% in Q4 2017 and matching the figure for Q3 2017.

Paul Lockstone, managing director at Barclaycard, said: “The ‘Beast from the East’ took its toll on the high street in March, keeping shoppers at home and leading to a slowdown in consumer spending. Despite the dip in growth last month, however, expenditure was broadly stable in the first quarter.

“It seems consumers have become accustomed to adjusting their budget and as a result, are more confident in their own finances. While there are bright spots, however, it’s important to note that a sense of caution still remains, with many of us hesitant to change our spending patterns no matter what the next few months may bring.”