Jewellery and partywear tops festive spending for 2023

According to preliminary insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse, UK shoppers returned to the high street for the festive period with jewellery and clothing seeing significant growth.

The report reveals that total UK retail sales from November 1 to December 24 show a 2.6 percent rise year-on-year, while in-store sales increased by 3.5 percent as shoppers returned to the high street.

Mastercard SpendingPulse adds that online sales were down 2.8 percent, showing that consumers still have an appetite for shopping in person, especially during the holiday season.

Jewellery was a big winner, with Mastercard stating that the category was a “festive favourite” and saw significant growth, increasing by 8.3 percent year-on-year, while clothing sales were up 8 percent as British consumers updated their wardrobe for the festive party season.

Natalia Lechmanova, senior economist of Europe for Mastercard, said in a statement: “The British consumer has been savvy with their spending this year. Although overall retail spend is relatively flat, we’ve seen an increase in spending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions when it comes to electronics in particular. Shoppers have been willing to splash out for gifts, with spend on jewellery and clothing up considerably year-on-year but wanted to do so at the right price.

“We’ve also seen a cautiously optimistic return to the high street. British consumers want to celebrate during the festive period, and we’ve seen spend on restaurants increase by over 10 percent as people continue to value experiences and spending time together post-pandemic.”