Restaurants continue to struggle as Brits cut back on dining out

That’s according to a consumer spending report from Barclays, which has clocked overall card spending up 5.4% year-on-year. 

It's a much rosier picture for pubs and bars, with spending up 8.4% due to warm weather, rising beer prices and Father’s Day celebrations. 

The Barclays report combines hundreds of millions of customer transactions with consumer research to provide ‘an in-depth view’ of UK spending. 

Barclays consumer research has found three in 10 Brits are planning to spend less on eating out in order to offset rising household bills.

The data also suggests that restaurants are losing out to specialist food and drink stores, including butchers and greengrocers, which enjoyed their highest increase (7.2%) since September 2021.

This implies that Brits are choosing to spend more on high-quality ingredients for BBQs and premium home-cooked meals instead of eating out at restaurants.

In addition, almost a fifth of consumers say that to save money when dining out this summer, they are opting to order just a main meal, with no starter or dessert.

“The UK economy remains in a precarious spot. Difficult quarters lie ahead as the surge in interest rates continues to put pressure on household cash flows,” says Barclays Chief Investment Officer for UK Wealth Management Will Hobbs. 

“However, there are mitigants. Much of that extra mortgage strain will fall on households more able to bear it, with significant excess savings still left over from the pandemic.”