UK Shoppers Slow Their Spending, Some Stockpile Ahead Of Brexit

UK Shoppers Slow Their Spending, Some Stockpile Ahead Of Brexit

British consumers reined in their spending in February ahead of Brexit as shoppers focused on buying food, including for stock-piling, rather than non-essential items, a data showed. Strong consumer spending has taken the edge off a slowdown in the world's fifth-biggest economy for much of the period since the 2016 Brexit referendum although consumer confidence levels are now close to five-year lows as the scheduled Brexit date of March 29 approaches. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said total sales edged up by an annual 0.5%, a sharp slowdown from growth of 2.2% in January. Separately, Barclaycard said its broader measure of consumer spending rose by 1.2%, the weakest increase since the company began recording spending on its cards in 2015. It said spending in pubs and restaurants, which had been growing strongly, slowed in February. Several retailers have also issued profit warnings, with Debenhams, once the country's biggest department store, issuing its latest downgrade recently. Employee-owned John Lewis is the only major British retailer to update on weekly sales, providing the most up to date snapshot of its customer behaviour. Sales at its department stores fell 3.9% in the four weeks to February 23. "Uncertainty surrounding the UK's imminent exit from the European Union has hit consumer spending," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said. "While real incomes have started to rise over the past year, shoppers have been reluctant to spend this February, holding back growth."