Britons spent £2,000 a minute in the pub as lockdown eases

Hairdressers also had a bumper start to the week.

Consumer spending soared this week as the latest lockdown restrictions were eased, with pub-goers alone spending £2,000 a minute on Monday.

Non-essential shops were allowed to reopen this week, as were hairdressers and pubs and restaurants for outdoor seating.

Many savers who have spent the past year unable to eat out, get a regular haircut or meet friends in the pub appear to be splashing the cash.

Spending in pubs reached a massive £2,086 a minute by 11.45am on Monday, according to data from fintech Revolut. This is up 200% compared with a normal Monday.

The biggest spenders were men aged 25 to 34, who bought 4.8 pints each on average.  

Additionally, Revolut users spent 500% more at the hairdressers this Monday than typically.

• Car stocks that stand to gain as lockdown eases
• Lockdown one year on: best-performing funds and trusts

Clothes shopping was up 130% and the most popular shops were TK Maxx, Primark and JD Sports. 

Revolut said activity from its three million users was fuelled by “pent-up demand right across the country, with Britons eager to spend some of the savings they have built up over the past year”. 

Overall spending shot up 185%, compared with typical pre-pandemic levels, which was helped by sports and leisure activities reopening.

This boost was echoed by consultancy CGA Insights which revealed like-for-like sales at food and drinks businesses were up 58.6% annually on Monday compared with the same day in 2019. Drink sales were up 113.8%.

The reopening has also boosted pub and leisure stocks, though these are still struggling.

For example, JD Wetherspoon is up 31.3% since the start of the year but has not regained highs of £1,600 that it reached at the end of 2019. It is currently trading at £1,372.

Similarly, Marston's is 36.7% down where it was five years ago.

• Are you saving enough for retirement? Our calculator can help you find out
• Examine the pension saving habits of investors at different life stages 

These types of stocks may also face pressure once the economy fully reopens and they assess whether spending and drinking habits will return to pre-pandemic levels.

Britons are still being urged to be cautious with their spending though.

Aseem Munshi, founder of budgeting app Updraft, says: “If you don’t have a budget in place, now is a good time to set one up.

“If you already have a budget, update it with your increased spending for the next few months but be sure you can still meet essential expenses.”