The UK economy is recovering and home consumption is becoming a popular trend

According to Barclaycard data, spending on daily necessities in the UK increased by 11.1% in 2021. This was mainly driven by supermarket shopping, with an overall growth rate of 17.4%, while online grocery spending soared by 97.4%.

At the beginning of 2021, due to the impact of the epidemic , all non-essential retail stores and hotels in the UK were closed, and online shopping surged. Compared with 2019, online retail increased by 87.7% in March 2021 , accounting for 51.8% of all retail spending.

As many households prefer home delivery services , online grocery spending in the UK increased by 119.7% in March , the highest growth so far this year. Online shopping in the UK has achieved a strong growth of 63.2% this year, while offline retail spending has increased more modestly, at only 0.6%.

At the same time, home consumption remains a popular trend in 2021 , with British people's spending on takeaway and fast food increasing by 62.0% this year.

Home entertainment is another category that has flourished during the pandemic , with digital content , subscriptions ( 47.4%) and electronics (10.3%) all seeing significant increases as many households purchased movies, game consoles , etc.

Although the pandemic continues to affect travel, the popularity of holidays in the UK has soared. In June this year , hotels , resorts and accommodation saw their first growth since the pandemic (3.7%), rising to 15.9% in August .

Older consumers spent the most on accommodation . In June , spending by consumers aged 50-64 increased by 27.7%, while spending by those aged 16-24 fell by 18.4% .

In addition, the British people also spent more on their homes , with spending on home improvement and DIY and furniture increasing by 26.2% and 19.8% respectively . Spending on pets also increased by 29.1% compared to 2019 .

Sports and outdoor retail also saw some growth due to the reopening of gyms and golf courses , with the category growing 21.9% overall . While spending in the hospitality and leisure sector was down 18.5% compared to 2019, sports venues have shown signs of recovery since the easing of restrictions in July .

In addition, clothing and pharmacies, and the health and beauty industries also improved in 2021, especially in May, when the British began shopping in preparation for social activities after the lifting of the lockdown , with these categories growing by 7.6% and 17.5% respectively .

While the impact of Omicron on the UK economy remains to be seen, we can clearly see that industries such as retail , hospitality and leisure in the UK are adapting to the changing external environment and overcoming the numerous challenges brought about by the epidemic .

Cross-border e-commerce market

U.K.

Economic recovery

Post-epidemic era