Bath shoppers are expected to loosen their purse-strings and spend £339m this Christmas on gifts and partying.
Despite household budgets being squeezed tighter this year, figures from Barclays predict that spending will be up by 4% this December on the same month last year.
In Bath, shoppers will splash out £207m on their debit cards and withdraw a further £132m from cashpoints and banks to enjoy themselves as the festive season gets under way.
Across the UK a record £46.9bn will be spent – some £17,540 per second, according to Barclays.
The bank’s research shows that consumers will use their debit cards for the bulk of their shopping, with a record £28.6bn expected to be spent on cards this month.
Supermarket tills will be ringing the loudest in Bath, accounting for £44m of festive spending, with £11m predicted to be spent at petrol stations and £6m at department stores.
Online shopping will account for more than a quarter of all debit card spending this December.
Meanwhile cash totaling £18.3bn is expected to be withdrawn from ATMs and banks throughout December.
The busiest day for debit cards spending is predicted to be Friday 23 when Barclays expects more than £1.4bn will be spent. On Christmas Eve ATMs across the country will dispense £774m. The peak time for ATMs is forecast to be between 11am and 12pm – equivalent to £24,890 withdrawn every second.
Barclays director of current accounts Dan Wass said: “It’s been a difficult year for consumers whose household budgets have been squeezed to cope with rising costs. But we are expecting shoppers to shun the doom and gloom and spend record levels as retailers make massive reductions to entice them in.”
