Editorial & Advertiser disclosure

Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

Headlines

UK consumer spending slows ahead of Reeves budget, retailers say

Published by Global Banking and Finance Review

Posted on October 13, 2025

Featured image for article about Headlines

LONDON (Reuters) -British consumer spending grew by the least in four months in September as uncertainty ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget next month and rising energy bills deterred shoppers, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The British Retail Consortium said spending in shops increased by 2.3% in annual terms, below August's 3.1% growth and the weakest rise since May.

Separate data from Barclays showed a drop in a broader measure of consumer spending in September.

"Rising inflation and a potentially taxing budget is weighing on the minds of many households planning their Christmas spending," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said, adding firms faced a dilemma for the busy end-of-year period.

"Retailers also face difficult decisions about investment and hiring over the Golden Quarter given uncertainty over business rates bills arriving in April."

The brunt of tax hikes announced last year by finance minister Rachel Reeves fell mostly on businesses while consumers were hit this month by a 2% increase in already high energy prices.

In its report, Barclays said spending on debit and credit cards fell by 0.7% in annual terms in September after August's 0.5% increase.

Spending on essential items fell by 2.6%, the fifth monthly decline in a row. Growth in spending on non-essential items was the weakest in 15 months at 0.2%.

Barclays' measure of households' confidence reached a four-year high at 78% with sentiment around personal finances the highest in seven months as wages continued to outpace inflation.

But nearly half of consumers surveyed by the bank said they were changing their spending habits in anticipation of next month's budget and a third of those were building up savings.

Barclays spending data was based on debit and credit card spending between August 23 and September 26, while the consumer sentiment data was based on a survey of 2,000 people conducted from September 26-30.

The BRC data covered sales made between August 31 and October 4.

(Reporting by Suban AbdullaEditing by William Schomberg)