长沙USDT支付收款|【唯一TG:@heimifeng8】|电报盗号系统全功能破解技术✨谷歌搜索留痕排名,史上最强SEO技术,20年谷歌SEO经验大佬✨Fashion sales struggled in March say Barclays and BRC reports
Sandra Halliday Published
April 9, 2025
UK consumer and retail spending remained sluggish in March, two reports showed on Tuesday with Barclays (general consumer and retail spending) and the British Retail Consortium (retail spend only) both suggesting Britons still haven’t got the urge to splurge.
First Barclays, which said “consumer card spending growth flatlined in March, on par with February’s modest 1.9% uplift and significantly less than the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.8%”.
The big issue was a slowdown in non-essential spending, which saw its smallest increase (1.6%) since September 2025, as wet weather dampened both retail and restaurant sales.
It added that retail spending growth was almost flat at 0.7%, brought down by falling in-store spending. Face-to-face retail excluding groceries was down 2.1% and clothing fell 1.8% as spring showers deterred shoppers from visiting the high street. That was bad news coming in what should have been the first big month of the spring season.
And in a survey Barclays conducted, 45% of consumers said they’re continuing to rein-in discretionary spending. And what are they most cutting back on? Well, the biggest group (53%) cited clothing and accessories.
The company did talk of growing stability in housing costs and higher spending in cinemas, bars, pubs and clubs to suggest that there are some bright spots out there. But it’s probably too early to break out the party poppers.
Mark Arnold, Head of Savings & Mortgages at Barclays UK, said: “Non-essential spending is still reeling… However, there are reasons to be optimistic – our data shows that housing costs are stabilising, the inflationary tide is easing, and interest rates are predicted to fall over the coming months, all of which should translate into increased consumer confidence and spending.”
As for the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, on the surface it seemed it was delivering better news. That’s because UK total retail sales increased 3.5% year on year in March, above both the three-month and 12-month average growth rates.
But the bad news is that non-food sales fell 1.1% year on year with in-store non-food sales down by the same amount and a 1.4% drop online.
And the BRC's Chief Executive, Helen Dickinson, said: “While retail sales growth improved last month, this was largely driven by Easter falling unusually early and the subsequent uplift to food sales in the week preceding the long weekend. [But] wet weather dampened sales of… clothing and footwear.
Linda Ellett, UK Head of Consumer Markets, Leisure & Retail, KPMG, added: “An early Easter showed green shoots of spring for retailers in March. There were some signs of improvement with more categories starting to see positive sales growth in March for the first time in months. Online sales, however, continued to slide, falling by 1.4% despite strong performances in home accessories, health, beauty, and homewares.
“As April signals big increases in the sector’s cost base – through the rise in minimum wage rates and business rate hikes for the larger high street brands – retailers will be hoping that the bounce back of March sales is more than just an Easter blip.
“It remains a challenging environment, but as we head into the warmer months, retailers will be hoping that stronger consumer confidence will turn into stronger retail sales, especially in more discretionary categories such as clothing, following an incredibly difficult few years.”