Consumer spending up 7.9% on same month last year

Consumer spending in November climbed by just under 8 per cent on the same period last year while online spending jumped by more than 11 per cent, according to the latest tracking index published by Visa Europe

Household discretionary spending has climbed each month over the 15 months since the company started collating the information, with the spending pick-up being particularly sharp in the second half of the year.

Visa has been tracking spending for 15 months. Last month’s 7.9 per cent increase across all payment methods is the biggest jump recorded so far and follows a 6.8 per cent increase in October.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday were two of the key factors for the spike in November, the company said, with ecommerce spending up 11.2 per cent.