Travel bucked lower spending trend during washout June, says Barclays

The research did, though, find encouraging figures about consumer attitudes. “While Brits maintain a steady approach to managing their budgets, consumer confidence showed signs of recovery compared to the previous month," said Barclays.

“Consumers feel more optimistic about their ability to live within their means (up to 73%) and spend more on non-essential items (56%), while confidence in job security increased four percentage points to 49%.

“Meanwhile, concerns about inflation fell by one percentage point, to 85%, while concerns about the rising cost of fuel eased, as spending on fuel declined -3.2%.”

Experience economy

Karen Johnson, Barclays’ head of retail, said unseasonable weather was having an “undeniable impact” on consumer spending but added it had driven spending on takeaways, digital content and entertainment.

Barclays last month predicted Britons will spend an average of £3,322pp on "experience economy" activities between June and September, although the median estimate is far less at £701.

It found 57% of consumers would rather spend money on a good experience than on material possessions, up five percentage points from 2018.

Barclays previous consumer spending report, covering the period from 20 April to 17 May, recorded a 4.7% year-on-year uptick in consumer spending growth on travel.