Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Cost of living: Platinum Jubilee 'boost' for shops and hospitality despite squeeze on incomes

Cost of living: Platinum Jubilee 'boost' for shops and hospitality despite squeeze on incomes

Two indicators of consumer spending suggest that retailers and hospitality have good cause to toast the Queen's Platinum Jubilee but it could prove to be a short-lived boost to their coffers as rising bills dampen wider demand.
Retailers, along with pubs and restaurants, have enjoyed a "welcome boost" from the four-day weekend celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, according to two measures of consumer spending.

Early data covering sales and the volumes of people out and about for the public holiday suggested Britons spent heavily on having fun with friends and family following a tough couple of years for stores and hospitality because of COVID restrictions.

This year, the UK's services-dominated economy has slowed as consumer budgets have become squeezed by the intensifying cost of living crisis.

But figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Sensormatic Solutions showed footfall over the long weekend rose 6.9% compared with the average for May and was 17.1% up for the full week to Sunday.

The BRC said Thursday was the best performing day, with a 45.6% improvement, versus the May average.

Data from Barclaycard Payments - which accounts for almost a third of all card spending in the UK - backed up the increase.

It pointed to a 41.5% rise in spending at restaurants over the Bank holiday weekend compared to the same period last year.

Spending was up 74.2% at pubs, bars and night clubs, while spending on entertainment was up 67.3% and spending on public transport was up 38.8%, the figures showed.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: "The public took to the streets for the Jubilee celebrations, with retail footfall enjoying significant improvements over the early parts of the long weekend.

"More people hit the shops, with many on the hunt for Jubilee decorations, garden accessories and new outfits."

Supermarkets and the pub sector had been among those speaking of their hopes, in advance of the Platinum Jubilee, of strong demand.

Barclays Payments CEO Rob Cameron said of the performance: "Despite wider concerns around the cost of living, the hospitality sector especially will be pleased by this welcome boost having missed out on two years of unrestricted trading."

However, as official data has shown, the spending spree is likely to be short-lived as households grapple rising inflation - tipped to exceed 10% later this year - driven mostly by unprecedented increases in energy bills across the economy linked to the war in Ukraine.

Data from the BRC for May retail spending, due to be published on Tuesday, is expected to show a fall in May as shoppers tightened their belts amid rising prices across the board.

Fresh Barclaycard data covering the month was also tipped to demonstrate a focus on paying bills for essentials, including energy, while luxuries such as streaming subscriptions continued to decline.

The government announced last month a £15bn package of additional support for households, with a focus on helping the most vulnerable, after the energy regulator estimated that the energy price cap could rise by £830 annually to £2,800 on average in October.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×