Barclays’ latest Consumer Spend Report reveals card spending fell by 0.1% last month, while essential spending contracted by 2.1%.

However, the hospitality and leisure sector bucked the downturn with growth of 2.1% thanks to an 8% increase in spending on entertainment, while live shows and concerts grew by 2.5%, with as many as 18% of British adults saying they would spend money to attend performances by people and bands including Beyonce and Pitbull.

The popularity of these events led to increased spends with hotels, resorts and accommodation of 2%, although travel agents appear to have missed out seeing growth of just 0.5% – a minor improvement from growth of 0.1% in May.

This also came despite a 2.3% boost in consumer spending on travel in June, with airlines seeing the biggest increase of 5.8%.

Encouragingly, the data shows that despite the 0.1% contraction in card spending, which was less than the 1% seen in May, and the drop in essential spending, confidence in household finances has grown by six percentage points to 73% – the highest level in four months.

This confidence comes off the back of 69% of consumers revealing they have made financial adjustments to deal with the current economic outlook, while one in three say they are building a savings buffer in event of a further rise in costs.

Barclays also found that dollowing the government’s June 2025 spending review, a quarter of consumers expect their energy bills to go up while 19% are anticipating an increase in essential spending.

Meanwhile, the global geopolitical situation continues to cause concerns for UK consumers, with 76% saying they are concerned by the impact of ongoing instability on their household finances.

A quiet month for retail, which grew by just 0.2%, made for a quiet high street, Barclays added, although furniture stores grew by 8.2% while the pharmacy, health and beauty sector also stood out with a 10.1% boost.

Barclays head of retail Karen Johnson said: “Despite the warm weather, which usually boosts non-essential sectors such as retail and hospitality, consumers spent cautiously in June, prioritising value as they navigate economic uncertainty.

“Encouragingly, entertainment, beauty and furniture stores bucked the trend, while confidence in household finances improved, showing consumers’ willingness to spend on the things that matter most to them.”

Barclays chief UK economist Jack Meaning added: “The economy has cooled throughout through Q2, but our data does show pockets of strength. However, with both global and domestic uncertainty, and temporarily heightened inflation likely to continue, consumers are remaining cautious and maintaining savings buffers.

“We expect this to lead to limited GDP growth for the remainder of this year, before falling interest rates and a stronger sense of certainty drive a return to growth next year."

The news from Barclays comes as C&M Travel Recruitment reports a drop in candidates looking for jobs in the travel industry in June.

The 7% drop from May equated to a 4% decrease year-on-year while the fall in candidate numbers was mirrored by a 12% decrease in the number of jobs compared to May, equal to a 21% fall year-on-year.

These two factors combined meant there was a 15% drop in candidates taking up new travel roles in June compared to May which was a 21% drop year-on-year.

C&M Travel Recruitment co-owner and managing director Barbara Kolosinska said: "These clearly aren’t the kind of figures that we – and the rest of the travel industry – would like to see.

“But the warm weather and the start of the summer season seems to have impacted the recruitment market, with many candidates and decision makers opting to enjoy the sun and delay their hiring plans.

"With school holidays on the way, we are unlikely to see a big increase in activity before September, but this does mean that there are now real opportunities for candidates to secure great travel positions this summer before competition gets much tougher in the autumn."