There was “no notable decrease” in retail spending caused by rail strikes in December and January, according to new official data.
Data from the ONS, based on spending by Revolut card users, found that “in-store spending remained flat” on 16 and 17 December, when compared to the surrounding days. The same was true for strikes that took place in early January during retailers’ sale seasons.
“These data show how industrial action on the railways on the 13 to 14 and 16 to 17 December 2022 as well as 3 to 7 January 2023, appears to have had no large negative impact on total consumer spending, either in terms of total spent or when they spent,” the ONS said.
Online spending also remained flat, meaning there was little to suggest the strikes pushed people towards online retailers.
Overall, the pattern of consumer spending from November to January was broadly similar to previous winters, despite a number of factors that could have affected customer habits such as strikes, the World Cup and inflation.
“Card spending data from Revolut suggest that nominal consumer spending has been more resilient than expected despite the negative sentiment reported by consumers,” the ONS noted.
There was also “only a small degree of ‘trading down’ by shopping at less expensive supermarkets”. Instead, the ONS said, consumers “preferred to ‘trade down’ to lower-priced goods within the same supermarket”.
Discretionary spending this winter peaked on 22 December at 1.8 times the baseline level, which is an average weekday in October 2019. While the 21 and 23 December were the next two biggest days for spending, The traditional American sales day of Black Friday - which fell on 25 November last year - was fourth and was the top day for online spending.
The ONS also said that food and drink sales rose year-on-year this winter, but that volumes remained roughly flat, meaning the growth was mostly due to inflation.
