Over-55s Drive UK Card Spending as Online Share Stalls
UK card spending is running well above its 2023 level, but the growth is concentrated among the over-55s, and online's share of card transactions has gone nowhere in a year.
01Telemetry
Key findings at a glance
- 121.6Total UK card spending index on 25 May 2026, where the 2023 average equals 100, up from 111.3 a year earlier
- 143.3Card spending index for the over-55s on 25 May 2026, the highest of any age group
- 112.3Card spending index for 18 to 34 year-olds on 25 May 2026, the lowest of any age group
- 128.7Card spending index for 35 to 54 year-olds on 25 May 2026
- 42.4%Online's share of UK card transactions in the seven days to 25 May 2026, down from 43.0% a year earlier
- 108.8Town and city centre footfall index for the week ending 24 May 2026, on a 2023 average of 100
- 110.6District and local centre footfall index for the week ending 24 May 2026
- 95.9Retail park footfall index for the week ending 24 May 2026, the only site type below its 2023 baseline
- 124.4Restaurant card spending index on 25 May 2026, pointing to resilient discretionary spend
- 6,290Average daily UK flights in the seven days to 24 May 2026, an indicator of travel demand
02Scope
What the report covers
The Office for National Statistics published its latest real-time indicators for the UK economy on 29 May 2026. The release pulls together fast-moving, experimental data sources, including anonymised Revolut card spending, high-street footfall counts and daily flight numbers, to give a near-current read on consumer spending and activity before the official monthly statistics catch up.
The headline picture is a consumer economy spending comfortably above its 2023 baseline. Total card spending sat at an index of 121.6 on 25 May 2026, where the 2023 average equals 100, up from 111.3 at the same point last year. Footfall has also recovered: town and city centres and local high streets are both trading above their 2023 levels, while retail parks remain just below.
The detail is more interesting than the headline. The spending growth is heavily skewed by age, and online's share of card transactions has barely moved in a year. Both points matter for how UK brands allocate budget across audiences and channels.
03Briefing
What this means for UK marketers
Two findings in this release cut against assumptions that are baked into a lot of UK marketing plans.
First, the spending recovery is generational. Card spending by the over-55s reached an index of 143.3 on 25 May 2026, against 112.3 for 18 to 34 year-olds. The older cohort has also grown faster over the year (from 122.1 to 143.3), while younger spenders have crept up far more slowly. Brands that default to a youth-skewed targeting strategy are fishing in the slowest-growing pool. For most consumer clients, the data argues for shifting a meaningful share of audience targeting and creative budget towards the 45-plus and 55-plus segments, who hold both the highest spend index and the steepest growth. This is a core part of how we approach audience strategy in our digital marketing services.
Second, the much-repeated story that spending is migrating relentlessly online does not hold in card-transaction terms. Online accounted for 42.4% of card transactions in the week to 25 May 2026, down slightly from 43.0% a year earlier. In other words, roughly 58% of card transactions still happen in person. That is not an argument against investing in ecommerce, but it is a strong argument against starving store-level, local and omnichannel marketing on the assumption that physical retail is in terminal decline. Note this card-transaction share is a different measure from the 28.1% online share of total retail spending in our earlier report on UK retail sales, which weights by spending value across all retailers.
The footfall split reinforces the point. With town and city centres at 108.8 and local centres at 110.6, but retail parks at 95.9, the recovery in physical visits is concentrated in high-street locations. Hospitality and leisure clients can take some comfort too: restaurant card spending sat at 124.4, suggesting discretionary and experience-led spend is holding up.
04Method
How they got the data
Check the method before you quote the number.
The ONS real-time indicators are described as early, experimental statistics built from rapid response surveys and novel data sources rather than the established monthly surveys. Card spending figures are derived from anonymised, aggregated Revolut transactions, indexed so that the 2023 average equals 100 and smoothed as a seven-day rolling average. Footfall is measured against the same 2023 baseline and reported weekly by site type across the UK.
Because these are experimental series drawn from partial data sources, the ONS cautions that they are best read as directional indicators rather than precise totals. The underlying tables, including the ONS retail footfall dataset, are updated on a rolling basis, with the next release due on 4 June 2026.
