Barclays Reveals 2025’s Top 10 Consumer Spending Trends, as Card Spend Declines -0.2%

Consumer card spending declined -0.2 per cent year-on-year in 2025, after growing 1.6 per cent in 2024 and 4.1 per cent in 2023. In a year marked by careful and considered budgeting, confidence in household finances consistently exceeded confidence in the economy. Some non-essential categories, such as beauty, travel and entertainment, bucked the general trends, as shoppers once again prioritised affordable treats and experiences that bring them joy.

New data from Barclays reveals that essential spending declined -2.3 per cent in 2025, down from 0.9 per cent growth in 2024. Non-essential spending increased marginally, up 0.8 per cent, however this lagged behind the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.8 per cent.

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, reveals the top 10 trends that shaped consumer behaviour this year.

1. Consumers prioritise non-essentials despite economic uncertainty
2. Beauty and wellness now non-negotiables
3. AI and technology aid money management
4. The ‘Experience Economy’ and Oasismania
5. Streamflation and the digital content boom
6. Savvy, value-conscious shopping
7. Travel spending slows
8. Furniture and home as comfort investments
9. Support for British-made and local products
10. Fitness-driven socialising and low/no alcohol choices

2025 saw the rise of “low-and-no” alcohol options and fitness-based gatherings, as nearly a third of consumers (31 per cent) said they have changed how they socialise in the last 12 months. Two in five (41 per cent) of those aged 18-34 say they now like to combine social catchups with exercise such as meeting for a gym class, cycle or run, while 48 per cent opt to socialise in ways that support health and wellbeing).

This wellness trend is leading many to cut back on nights out – two fifths (44 per cent) of adults reported going on fewer nights out in 2025, with spending at bars, pubs and clubs declining -0.2 per cent year-on-year, after experiencing 3.6 per cent growth in 2024.

Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays, said: “While confidence in the UK economy has declined, UK households’ confidence in their ability to manage their money has remained strong, translating into the resilient performance of categories such as travel, entertainment and beauty. It is encouraging to see that through purposeful spending, consumers continue to prioritise the things that bring them joy, unlocking the potential for UK economic growth.”