After showing modest signs of recovery in Q2 2025, our data shows that overall net spending on leisure activities declined in Q3 2025 from -8.3% to -9.9%. The drop reflects renewed pressure on budgets and greater caution in discretionary categories as households try to deal with high bills including for energy and groceries. This reverses the improvement seen earlier in the year when net spending rose from -10.8% in Q1 to -8.3% in Q2 2025. When benchmarked against pre-pandemic levels, the Q3 2025 figure remains 2.7 percentage points lower than Q3 2019 (-7.1%). However, it is worth noting that current spending sentiment is still 1.5 percentage points above the long-term average of -11.4 %, suggesting that while consumers are tightening their belts, the situation is not as severe as some previous periods.

Leisure net spending in Q3 declined in all 11 leisure categories measured by the Deloitte Consumer Tracker. The most notable quarter-on-quarter decline in consumer net spending was in betting and gaming ( -4.3 percentage points) and going to the gym and playing sport (-2.9 percentage points) categories. Other categories including culture and entertainment (-1.5 percentage points), and other leisure activities (-1.4 percentage points) also faced headwinds. Similarly, eating out saw a -1.2 percentage point decrease compared with Q2, and drinking in coffee shops/ sandwich shops fell by 0.7 percentage points. Drinking in pubs/bars also registered a 0.8 percentage point decline. The consistent decline across these hospitality categories points to consumers actively reducing non-essential expenditure, likely driven by tightened household budgets in the face of persistent inflation. Attending live sports events recorded a net-balance of -7.2%, reflecting a 0.8 percentage point decline compared with Q2. Even the more resilient categories of long and short holidays experienced a softening compared with the previous quarter, falling by -1.1 and -0.4 percentage points respectively. This decline in travel-related spending is a typical seasonal pattern observed following the peak summer holiday period.

Outlook for Q4 2025

Looking ahead to Q4 2025, consumer intentions for leisure spending are anticipated to remain subdued across most categories, reflecting continued caution compared with the previous quarter. Both long and short holiday categories are expected to see a decline of -8.7 percentage points and -7.8 percentage points respectively, reflecting a post-summer dip in travel intentions.

The hospitality sector also faces notable challenges, with eating out (-5.7 percentage points), drinking in coffee shops/sandwich shops (- 3.3 percentage points) and drinking in pubs/bars (-1.9 percentage points) categories expected to see a substantial decrease compared with the previous quarter. Despite Q4 being a festive season, these projected declines suggest that consumers are likely to be highly selective with their discretionary spending, even during periods of traditional uplift and might choose to socialise and dine at home rather than visiting bars and restaurants.

Other categories also anticipate continued negative sentiment, including other leisure activities (-4.0 percentage points), culture and entertainment (-3.2 percentage points), attending live sports events (-2.1 percentage points), going to the gym or playing sport (-1.7 percentage points), in home leisure activity (-0.9 percentage points), and betting and gaming (-0.2 percentage points).

This sustained cautious outlook underscores the ongoing challenges for leisure and hospitality businesses. Businesses should be mindful of the need to offer compelling value propositions, innovative experiences and flexible options to attract and retain consumers amid tightened budgets. For the festive period, this could mean focusing on premium yet accessible experiences, clear pricing and strong promotional strategies to capture a share of reduced discretionary spend.