Consumers enjoyed summer spending before autumn price rises
People spent more money and made more transactions last month as they made the most of the warm weather and the start of the summer holidays, according to Nationwide's report into members' monthly spending.
Consumers spent more on holidays, leisure activities like watching sporting events, and buying new clothes in July amid a spell of hot weather in the UK.
Meanwhile, eating and drinking spending was up by 8 percent compared with june as people enjoyed socialising with family and friends in pubs and restaurants, the building society found.
It came after households cut back across the board on essentials and non-essentials in the previous month, in a sign that rising costs had begun to hurt people's budgets.
People have decreased spending on subscriptions, Diy and gardening, and dating since last year, reflecting a shift in priorities when it comes to non-essentials, it added.
Furthermore, spending to pay off debts such as credit cards and loans was up by 13 per cent on July last year and 5 per cent compared with June. This increase shows more people have needed to resort to spending on credit to get by during the rising cost of living, Nationwide said.
The increase in spending levels also reflects higher prices for the same items compared with last year.
Fuel and electric car charging payments rocketed by 37 per cent year on year and 7 per cent compared with June amid soaring petrol and diesel costs, while spending on utilities and other bills like tax shot up by a fifth compared with last year and 8 per cent month on month.