UK shoppers cut back on pre-Christmas spending at fastest rate in almost five years

Though key shopping dates drove sales, consumers remained wary of economic unknowns - (AFP via Getty)

UK households have cut back on Christmas spending at the fastest rate in nearly five years, new figures show.

Data from Barclays shows that card spending fell 1.1 per cent in November compared to the same time last year, as people dealt with financial uncertainty over what was to come in the Budget. That’s the biggest drop since shortly after the Covid pandemic, in February 2021.