Barclaycard say spending on live events up 8.5%

Barclaycard say that spending on live entertainment is up. The credit card giant says that consumers have spent 8.5% more on live entertainment (including sport) in the first half of this year compared to 2014, with three months in 2015 seeing double digit growth on last year.  Barclaycard also reckons that, while people are spending more often on live entertainment, individual transactions across the board are down, suggesting less big festival or high-end events and more cost effective forms of entertainment. The average live entertainment transaction this year is £37.62 compared to £40.37 for the same period in 2014. Barclaycard Chief Marketing Officer Katherine Whitton told reporters last week: "As the country enjoys a rise in spending power, people are keen to indulge their love affair with live music and entertainment. The impressive growth so far this year shows no sign of slowing down, and we expect live entertainment to ride the wave of the economic recovery over the coming months".