According to Barclaycard, people were spending most of their money this year on online shopping, home improvements, streaming subscriptions and takeaways.

Despite non-essential shops being closed at the start of 2021, people spent most of their money online as online transactions surged by 88% in March 2021 compared to March 2019.

And whilst hospitality venues were closed at the start of the year, spending on takeaways increased by 62%.

Spending on pets also increased this year as people spent 29% more at vets and pet retailers than in 2019.

Jose Carvalho, head of consumer products at Barclaycard, commented on what we can expect for 2022: “As we look ahead to 2022, the economy will face fresh challenges from rising household bills, inflation, and uncertainty about the new Covid variant.”

“Yet, as we’ve seen over the last two years, consumers and businesses are capable of adapting to and overcoming immense hardship and adversity”.

New research has found that nine million people in the UK have been forced to cancel or postpone holidays to the US or mainland Europe due to travel restrictions.

The research by Ziglu, shared with City A.M, found that Brits are spending an additional £2,000 on holidays due to travel restrictions and test requirements.

Mark Hipperson, Founder and CEO of Ziglu, said: “The Omicron variant has forced Governments around the world to introduce new restrictions to help slow the spread and this means disruption for millions of people who have booked holidays.”

“The decision whether or not to travel will be difficult given the need for COVID tests and the possibility of having to quarantine with all the disruption that leads to. The inevitable result will be that many cancel or postpone their trips.”

“Travel companies and some airlines are trying their best to be flexible regarding refunds, but many holidaymakers will end up out of pocket as a result of the changes.”

After hitting a 22-month high, the FTSE has dipped 10 points at 7410.

Travel stocks fell as Omicron case numbers continue to grow, with IAG being the top faller and dropping 2%. Flutter was down 1.4%, Entain was down 1%, whilst BT fell 1.6%.

Travel stocks have continued to fall this week due to Omicron cases and bad weather cancelling flights.

 Flight-tracking website FlightAware.com found that over 1,000 flights were canceled within, into, or out of the United States were cancelled just on Monday.

The FTSE hit a 22-month high yesterday, briefly hitting 7,457.14.

Spreadex expert Oliver Males commented at the time: “The FTSE is currently up … as continued optimistic news regarding the new variant is released, such as Boris Johnson announcing that there will be no further restrictions imposed, due to the low severity of Omicron,”

“However, the same cannot be said for the rest of Europe as both the Dax and Cac dropped today, after most of Europe sees a ‘tsunami’ of cases, with France recording over 200,000 cases in the past 24 hours.

“This has in turn led UK travel stocks lower, such as IAG being down over 2%, and holiday operator, TUI, in the red by over 5%.

“Many experts are expecting the Omicron variant to have its real effect in 2022, as inflation is likely to soar, leading to rising interest rates, while the international supply chain is still going to be heavily disrupted.”

UK households are likely to be hit next year amid rising tax and energy bills, along with stalling wages.

The Resolution Foundation has said that next year could be “year of the squeeze”, and higher energy bills could cost households £1,200.

The report said: “The months ahead will not be easy for households who see their wages fall back as energy bills and taxes rise. As Omicron hopefully fades in the early months of 2022, we will come to realise the scale of the challenge posed to household finances.”

UK inflation hit highs in 2021 and is likely to grow next year.

“2022 will begin with Omicron at the forefront of everyone’s minds. But while the economic impact of this new wave is uncertain, it should at least be short-lived. Instead, 2022 will be defined as the ‘year of the squeeze’,” said Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation.

“The overall picture is likely to be one of prices surging and pay packets stagnating. In fact, real wages have already started falling, and are set to go into next Christmas barely higher than they are now.”