Heat climate and Easter weekend boosted UK spending in April, says Barclays | Client spending

British households elevated their spending in April as unusually heat climate and the lengthy Easter weekend helped shoppers shrug off anxiousness across the world financial system, new knowledge has instructed.

Client card spending grew by 4.5% in April in contrast with the identical interval final yr, the largest rise since June 2023, the excessive avenue financial institution Barclays discovered. Non-essential spending, corresponding to on leisure or takeaway meals, rose by 5.1% final month, its highest price in nearly two years.

The warmest April on document, mixed with an extended Easter weekend, additionally meant extra customers had been out on the excessive avenue. Spending in bodily retailers elevated by 6.9% after it dropped by 1.9% in March on a year-on-year foundation.

Julien Lafargue, a strategist at Barclays, mentioned financial sentiment was “surprisingly optimistic” even amid uncertainty across the impression of US tariffs on the financial system.

“The current determination by the Financial institution of England to additional decrease rates of interest ought to add to this momentum. Equally, the commerce settlement reached between the US and the UK ought to present some a lot wanted visibility to companies.” he mentioned.

Final week the Financial institution agreed to chop rates of interest by 1 / 4 level to 4.25% and Keir Starmer introduced he had reached a commerce settlement with Donald Trump, the US president.

The Barclays knowledge chimed with separate analysis by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), an trade physique. It discovered retail gross sales rose by 4.3% throughout the March and April interval. Meals gross sales in April grew 8.2% towards final yr, whereas non-food gross sales grew by 6.1%.

Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief government, mentioned Easter falling in April this yr had contributed to the gross sales increase and the sunny climate had led to a lift in client spending.

She mentioned: “Meals gross sales carried out nicely as individuals introduced collectively their household and buddies for Easter celebrations, whereas gross sales of DIY, homeware and gardening items shone shiny as individuals made the many of the climate.”

On-line furnishings gross sales rose by 7% in April, with family home equipment up 8%. Linda Ellett, of the consultancy KPMG, mentioned that this was doubtless a results of an increase in new householders as a consequence of stamp responsibility modifications final month.

From 1 April, first-time patrons in England and Northern Eire now pay tax on houses price greater than £300,000, down from £425,000, and the brink for a decreased price for first-time patrons will drop from £625,000 to £500,000.

The zero-tax stamp responsibility threshold that applies to all housing in England and Northern Eire additionally dropped from £250,000 to £125,000.

A rush of first-time patrons making an attempt to get forward of the stamp responsibility modifications meant March was one of many busiest months ever for large mortgage lenders, with Barclays reporting the variety of mortgage completions elevated by 50% within the UK.