Agents were pipped to the top spot in Barclays latest monthly Consumer Spend Report by the digital content and subscriptions category. The boost for agents came despite December being the eighth consecutive month in which essential spending fell back.
Growth in consumer card spending decreased by 1.7% year-on-year in December, a more significant decline than November's 1.1%. It marked the greatest annual fall in spending since February 2021 (-9.5%), as consumers continue to combat rising costs by making and planning cutbacks.
The Barclays Consumer Spend report combines hundreds of millions of customer transactions with consumer research to provide an in-depth view of UK spending.
Consumer confidence showed signs of recovery though, with confidence in household finances rising to 66% (up from 64% in November and 63% in October) albeit below 2025’s average of 70%.
Similarly, consumers are regaining confidence in their job security and ability to spend on non-essentials, which both improved three percentage points month-on-month, to 46% and 55% respectively. Confidence in the UK economy grew to 24% after remaining subdued at 22% in both October and November.
In Barclays’ overall growth figures, travel agents actually stood out as seeing very strong spending growth in December – 7.2%. This was the highest retail figure in the table, coming second only to “digital content and subscriptions” at 7.8% growth.
Nearly all other categories showed a decrease in spending growth. Travel agents’ transaction growth was highest in the whole table at 16.5%.
Jack Meaning, chief UK economist at Barclays, said: “These numbers suggest 2025 ended with a whimper, following the slowdown we saw define last year.
"However, we expect inflation to ease significantly in the first half of 2026, which, alongside a further easing of interest rates, should provide consumers with respite, unlocking real spending power.
"If the tentative signs of improving confidence can last beyond the New Year, then UK activity could strengthen as the year goes on.”
