UK consumer spending falls sharply in Christmas week

British consumer spending on credit and debit cards fell sharply in the week to Dec. 30, which covered the Christmas holiday period, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday.

Card spending dropped by 40 percentage points from the previous week to 86% of its average level in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This fall appears broadly consistent with a seasonal effect,” the ONS said.