Consumer spending fell in December in a further dose of bad news for Britain’s retail industry, which is already grappling with higher costs and disruption from a possible no-deal Brexit.
Visa’s latest UK Consumer Spending Index, compiled by IHS Market, showed that consumer spending fell 1% last month in the sharpest decline since April. The fall also accelerated from a 0.7% reduction in November.
Visa, whose bank clients process card payments, said that “face to face expenditure” on the high street fell by 1.6%, while e-commerce spending rose by only 0.5%.
