UK Consumer Confidence Hits Two-Year High as World Cup and Staycations Boost Spending

LONDON —

Consumer confidence in the United Kingdom climbed to its highest level in almost two years in July, according to a monthly survey by Barclays, as pub visits tied to England's World Cup run, a wave of domestic vacations and hot summer weather pushed up spending.

The bank's survey found that 30 percent of people felt confident about the strength of the British economy last month, a six percentage point jump from June and the strongest reading in 21 months, Barclays said. Card spending rose 2 percent from a year earlier, building on a 1.9 percent increase in June. Barclays said the numbers show people feel steadier in their jobs and are willing to spend more on things they don't need.

Pubs, movies and staycations

Pubs were among the biggest winners, with transactions up 10 percent as fans gathered to watch England's World Cup games, according to Barclays. The bank estimated the tournament brought British pubs roughly 150 million pounds in extra sales. Cinemas saw card spending rise 2.6 percent, helped by "Toy Story 5" and "The Odyssey," the highest grossing film yet from director Christopher Nolan.

Repeated heat waves kept many Britons home rather than flying abroad, Barclays said, pushing spending on domestic accommodations up 2.6 percent. Confidence in the broader European economy also rose, up six percentage points to 35 percent, the highest level Barclays has recorded since it began tracking that measure in 2015.

A separate report from the British Retail Consortium, an industry trade group, found the gains were uneven. Food sales rose 3.8 percent from a year earlier, close to last year's pace, and clothing retailers got a summer bump too, though many shoppers moved online to avoid the heat. Big purchases like furniture and computers lagged. Helen Dickinson, the group's chief executive, said shoppers instead spent on "smaller indulgences" like beauty products and costume jewelry.

Results varied sharply by retailer. John Lewis, H&M and Zara reported difficult trading conditions, while HMV, which runs 114 stores in Britain, said store visits rose 12 percent in the first half of the year, driven largely by children buying toys. Next, seen as a bellwether for how British shoppers are feeling, raised its profit forecast for the third time this year, citing sunny weather and calmer global conditions.

Job market shows signs of steadying

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office in Downing Street this year, has made repeated pledges to ease the cost of living. A separate study by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and the accounting firm KPMG found employers growing more confident too, with a measure of permanent hiring reaching its highest level since September 2022.

Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, cautioned that some of the improvement in hiring data could reflect a temporary "Burnham bounce" rather than a lasting shift, noting that fighting resumed in the Middle East in July even as the survey pointed to falling uncertainty. "So sentiment could easily drop back somewhat," he said.