Retail spending in Dublin recorded further growth in the fourth quarter of 2021, as consumer demand remained strong in the capital’s economy.
The latest Mastercard SpendingPulse, produced on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities, shows that total retail spending in Dublin rose by 0.4% compared to the third quarter of 2021, and 5.1% year on year.
There was considerable variation in the performance of the different segments of Dublin’s retail sector in the final quarter of the year, the research indicates.
The most significant uplift was in the entertainment segment, where hotels, restaurants and bars experienced an expenditure growth of 14.7% during the period, the data shows.
Household goods sales increased modestly year on year in the fourth quarter, and they remained at a high level, which has, encouragingly, been the case since the third quarter of 2020.
Michael McNamara, global head of Mastercard SpendingPulse, said on consumer spending, “Discretionary spending in department and clothing stores was subdued and is a disappointing conclusion to what was another challenging year for bricks-and-mortar outlets.”
Tourist Spending
According to Mastercard, spending by overseas tourists in Dublin rose by 75.9%, year on year, in the fourth quarter of last year.
In light of the easing of travel restrictions by the Biden administration, spending by US tourists recovered to the greatest extent during the period (+390%).
Further improvements across all international markets are expected in 2022, Mastercard noted.
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more retail news, click here. Click sign up to subscribe to Checkout.
