Consumer card spending in furniture stores rose during August when compared to last year, says new data from Barclays.

According to the latest Barclays Consumer Spending Index, which includes both debit and credit cards, furniture store spending growth increased 11.6% – the greatest uplift since March 2022, while transaction growth was up 7.7% against the same month last year.

Home improvement and DIY stores saw spending growth decline 1.4%, with transaction growth down 6.8%. Department stores saw spending growth decrease 8.8%, with transaction growth down by 5.2%.

Discount stores saw a decrease of 4.3% in spend growth, while transaction growth was down 4.9%, and Garden centres experienced an increase of 0.6% in spend growth and a decline of 0.3% in transaction growth.

Overall, consumer card spending grew just 0.5 per cent year-on-year in August, down from 1.4 per cent in July and lower than the latest CPIH inflation rate of 4.2 per cent. Essential spend declined, however discretionary spend rose 2.0 per cent, as clothing, furniture and health & beauty stores all performed well. Insperiences and leisure both saw an uplift, led by entertainment and digital content & subscriptions, with the latter helped by the success of KPop Demon Hunters.

Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays, said: “Encouragingly, confidence in household finances remained steady in August, suggesting that while the cost of living is still front of mind, consumers are learning to navigate the challenges and make the most of their budgets.”