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Fear and frustration: Europe's wealthy keep wallets closed

Reuters - 11 September 2020

Card transaction data from analytics firm Fable Data shows UK retail sales rose in August, recovering to just above 2019 levels by the end of the month. Consumers shifted spending from entertainment, leisure and transport towards cars, car maintenance, home improvements and sporting goods.

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UK economy faces gloomy fourth quarter
Spending slowed even before new restrictions were announced

Financial Times -  23 September 2020

Consumer spending remains the bright spot in the economy, with the latest figures from Fable Data, which tracks spending on cards and bank accounts, showing a 4.8 per cent rise in total spending in the week up to September 13, compared with the same week in 2019.

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Recovery in UK consumer confidence threatened by rising infections

Financial Times -  25 September 2020

In the week ending September 20, UK consumer spending contracted on an annual basis for the first time. “After six weeks of positive year-on-year spend, UK spend was down 1.32 per cent this week,” said Avinash Srinivasan, equity analyst at Fable Data. Link to the article

Fixing test and trace is the only way to avoid economic catastrophe

According to the Fable data, based on 180,000 transactions, spending in Leicester was already 31pc down compared to its pre-virus level, at around £750,000 a day. But while the lockdown cut Covid-19 cases from 20 per 100,000 to fewer than five per 100,000 inhabitants, it did so without any further significant decline in credit card spending compared to Coventry.

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The Telegraph -  28 September 2020

There are some indications that the summer momentum began to ease in September. For example, the IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index showed growth in business activity slowed in September. This was particularly the case in the services sector. In addition, card and bank payments data collected by Fable Data point to consumer spending slowing over the course of September, following strong increases in July and August.

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*The House of Commons Library does not operate as a press outlet, but as an impartial research and information service based in UK Parliament.

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London restaurant spend topped 2019 before new restrictions

City AM -  21 October 2020

Spending at restaurants, pubs and bars in London climbed above 2019 levels for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic before new restrictions were put in place, data provided exclusively to City A.M has shown. Food and beverage spending was 1.7 per cent higher in September than a year earlier, according to Fable Data, which tracks card payments and bank transactions.

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Drop in UK consumer confidence fuels double-dip recession fears

Financial Times -  23 October 2020

Figures from Fable Data, a company that tracks bank transactions, showed the annual change in spending for pubs and restaurants contracted in the week ending October 18, reversing September’s expansion, despite growth in spending on food deliveries.

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New restrictions less damaging to UK economy than spring lockdown, data show

Financial Times -  16 November 2020

Consumer spending contracted 2.8 per cent in the week ending November 8 compared with the same week last year, down from a 1 per cent expansion in the previous week, but a smaller drop than in March, according to Fable Data.

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How to contain COVID-19 flare-ups without crushing the economy

Chicago Booth Review -  17 November 2020

As the virus that causes COVID-19 continues to spread, global policy makers face a multitrillion-dollar question: How can we contain it without a fresh round of broad lockdowns? The researchers combined COVID-19 case reports with spending figures provided by Fable Data.

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UK consumer confidence at six-month low as restrictions tighten

Financial Times -  20 November 2020

The figures were released as research from Fable Data, a company that tracks credit card transactions, showed UK consumer spending contracting 8.8 per cent in the week ending November 15 compared to the same period last year, making a sudden reversal of the improvements seen over the summer. 

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Consumers rushed out to spend after England lockdown lifted

Financial Times -  17 December 2020

Figures produced by Fable Data, based on card transactions and bank payments, show that consumer expenditure in the UK was up 9.4 per cent in the week ending December 13 compared with the same period a year ago.

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Lockdowns fuel fears of double-dip recession in Eurozone 

Financial Times -  17 January 2021

German consumer spending in the second week of January was 25 per cent lower than in the same period last year, according to Fable Data, which tracks bank transactions.

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Eurozone heading for double-dip recession as expert fears 'wave of bankruptcies'

Daily Express -  18 January 2021

Germany last week rolled out a series of new measures with infections and deaths growing at a record rates. Consumer spending in the second week of January was down 25 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Fable Data.

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Investment Trends Beyond 2021: Nearshoring of Tech Talent

Forbes -  20 January 2021

 In real demand terms, the consumer transaction data specialist Fable Data reported that in the U.K., spending on electronics ranked among the top three segments in November and December, and in Germany, hardware alongside beer and wine were consistently among the most popular individual purchase areas.

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Mapping and addressing COVID-19 regional inequalities using real-time spending data

LSE British Politics and Policy Insights -  28 January 2021

A recent UK government aim is to address such disparities through policies to 'level-up' the regions that historically have experienced less benefits arising from globalisation and national economic growth. This is a particular pertinent issue for the UK, which is among the most geographically unequal developed economies. In our research, we use granular, real-time data on consumer spending to measure the uneven 2020 recession and recovery across UK regions. 

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Growth figures don't tell us what we really need to know about economy

The Telegraph - 9 February 2021 

Of more potential use is research from the likes of University of Nottingham professor John Gathergood and his colleagues using real time credit card spending figures from data firm Fable, giving a more recent picture of where the spending is happening. 

The authors rightly point out that with such surgical data on spending available – the Fable data is available with a one-day lag – the opportunity is there for the Government to offer surgical support with policies such as business rates relief.

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UK businesses report strong trade after lockdown reopening

Financial Times - 20 April 2021

In the first three days after the reopening, consumer spending was up 10 per cent compared with the same days of that week in 2019, up from nearly minus 30 per cent in the week ending April 11, according to Fable Data, a company that tracks credit card transactions.

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First week of indoor service sees spending up on 2019 levels

The Morning Advertiser - 01 June 2021

Spending in UK pubs spiked 28% on 2019 trading levels for the first week of indoor trading. Consumers were keen to get back indoors, transaction data from Fable has revealed, with a 28% growth in spend in the week 17 May to 23 May, compared to the same week in 2019.
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UK consumer confidence rises to highest level since first lockdown

Financial Times - 23 April 2021

Spending in the week to April 18 was 5 per cent above the equivalent week in 2019, according to Fable Data, which tracks credit card transactions. The figures covered the period after the reopening of non-essential shops, the hospitality sectors and personal services such as hairdressers and it was the first week this year that spending beat the equivalent week in 2019.

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Eurozone shows signs of bouncing back from double-dip recession

Financial Times - 19 May 2021

Meanwhile there are early indications that consumers are becoming more willing to spend. Retail and entertainment centres are receiving more visitors, according to Google Mobility data. German consumer spending in the week ending May 9 was just 3 per cent below the same week in 2019, according to Fable Data, which tracks bank transactions.
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Economists pinpoint UK local authorities in greatest need of support post-Covid-19 – new research

Mirage News - 23 July 2021

Academics at the University of Nottingham partnered with Experian, Fable Data and Huq to source data from consumer and company credit files, transaction-level data on consumer spending and geolocation. These granular data sources allow the researchers to track, at the local authority level, consumer and business financial distress; measures of how much people travel; and consumer spending.
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Rush of customers to UK pubs and restaurants points to economic boost

Financial Times - 25 May 2021

UK consumer spending between Monday and Wednesday last week rose 10 per cent on the levels recorded for the same days in 2019, before the pandemic hit. This was the strongest reading of any week since coronavirus restrictions were put in place in the UK last March, according to figures from Fable Data, which tracks banks transactions.
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Rush of customers to UK pubs and restaurants points to economic boost

Financial Times - 03 June 2021

Consumer spending rose 8 per cent in the week ending May 30 compared with the same week in 2019, led by growing demand for transport, entertainment, and pubs and restaurants, according to Fable Data, a company that tracks UK banks transactions.
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Eurozone economy edges back towards pre-pandemic norms

Financial Times - 22 June 2021

Consumers in the eurozone are flocking back to bars and restaurants, booking holidays and travelling to work again, according to unofficial data that suggest pre-pandemic patterns of economic activity are re-emerging. In Germany, restaurant bookings and consumer spending are both higher than their levels in June 2019, according to OpenTable and Fable Data, which tracks bank transactions.
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Nervousness over new Covid wave stalls UK economic recovery

Financial Times - 07 July 2021

Consumers visited and spent less in UK shops, bars and restaurants in June, according to new data, suggesting the economic recovery lost momentum following a rise in Covid-19 infections. Avinash Srinivasan, analyst at Fable Data, said that high street spending in particular “has continued to track lower in recent weeks”.
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