New data from Barclaycard reveals clothing spend saw an uplift of 4.2% in September. Back to School shopping and warmer weather contributed 2% of this growth.

The substantial improvement of 4.2% growth in clothing spend was primarily shoppers investing in autumn/winter wardrobes. Also, parents preparing their children for a return to school.

This is a significant improvement on last month’s clothing figure of 0.3%, which was the first growth in the industry since March 2019.

Back to School shopping was amid the key contributors to the largest uplift since February 2020.

Looking at the high street, face-to-face spending was down just 1.9%; a notable improvement on August (-6.7%). This suggests Brits are becoming more comfortable visiting shops.

The nation is also the most optimistic it has felt about the UK economy since March (24%); an improvement on the 19% seen in August. Meanwhile, confidence in household finances remains high at 70%.

However, this is tempered by over a third (34%) expecting coronavirus or other economic changes to have a direct impact on their income over the next 12 months.

The Barclaycard report combines hundreds of millions of customer transactions with consumer research to provide an in-depth view of UK spending.