General · 12 May 2026
UK households spent less, fastest drop in 18 months.
British households are cutting back on purchases, marking the quickest reduction in a year and a half. Barclays, which processes many UK card transactions, reported a 0.1% fall in card spending last month compared to a year ago. The decrease was the first year-on-year since November 2024, and non-essential spending dropped by 0.3%.
Reported by Guardian · How we write briefs