Consumer spending contracted 26.7 per cent year-on-year in May, but positive signs are seen as more sectors adapt to social distancing restrictions to keep their doors open.

Data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, reveals that spending on essential items grew slightly by 0.9 per cent. This was bolstered by a 24.5 per cent rise in supermarket spend – which increased to 27.0 per cent in the week preceding the VE Day weekend as Brits made the most of the sunny bank holiday. The upsurge in supermarket expenditure helped to offset a 49.7 per cent fall in fuel.

Spending on non-essentials decreased by 36.9 per cent year-on-year, with department stores and clothing declining 44.5 per cent and 42.4 per cent respectively. However, this drop was less steep than last month’s, which saw non-essential spend contract by 47.7 per cent, reflecting a slightly more positive outlook for UK retailers ahead of some stores opening on 15 June.

While eating and drinking saw an overall decline of 70.3 per cent year-on-year, there were signs of a recovery as May saw a smaller fall in spending than in April (-79.1 per cent). This coincides with more...

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