More than quarter plan to spend more this Christmas

The latest tracker showed only 14% of those polled intended to spend less than last year on the festive season. Compared to 27% who plan to spend more and 56% match last year’s spending.

The tracker shows that total leisure spend rose 1% year-on-year for August and 8% against July, to £222.47 on average per household. Within this, eating out rose 2% year-on-year and 6% on July to £89.32. Drinking out spend fell by 2% over the year but added 1% on last month to hit £44.35.

The tracker said the late bank holiday weekend provided a boost for spending as households splashed out in the final week.

An analysis of eating out spend showed family households increased their spend by 9% against July but the year-on-year figure showed a decline of 3% - the first recorded fall in this group.

Drinking out also saw a small increase in family spend against July with a 1% rise but fell by 3% year-on-year.

Households without kids increased spending on Other Leisure by 11%. Much of this increase was a result of increased spend on live sports events, particularly given the early start of the Premiership this year

Fiona Gunn, Greene King’s marketing director, said: “The continued increase in wages and rise in consumer confidence could be a driver of the recent uptick in spending on Other Leisure.

"Over the school holidays, parents have been entertaining their children with trips to the theatre, the cinema, museums and other attractions. Spending on live sports events has also seen an increase due to the earlier start to the Premiership football season and, as the Rugby World Cup has just kicked off, we look forward to seeing this trend continue throughout the autumn.”