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Furniture spend up 2.4% with Barclaycard

April 1, 2025

Consumer card spending grew 1.0% year-on-year in February – lower than January’s 1.9% increase and less than the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.9%, according to recent figures reported by Barclays. In anticipation of higher bills, consumers are said to be cutting back on essential outgoings, but still prioritising discretionary purchases, contributing to an uptick in optimism in the health of personal and household finances.

Furniture and carpet stores saw spend growth of 2.4%, exceeding the overall trend and contributing to transaction growth of 0.8%
Confidence in household finances reportedly reached the highest level Barclays has seen since it started tracking this measure in 2015, at 75% (up from 70% in January). This is perhaps in part due to prudent money management, the company suggests, as 40% say they are finding ways to save money amidst increasing costs.

Confidence in consumers’ ability to spend more on non-essential items rose to 59% (from 56%), while discretionary spending remained in growth at 2.1%.


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