Irish consumer spending returns to growth in March with +2.7% increase year-on-year.
Visa’s Irish Consumer Spending Index, produced by IHS Markit, signalled a positive end to the first quarter of 2019 with regards to consumer spending.
“As the first quarter comes to a close, March saw a return to growth for Irish consumer spending," said Philip Konopik, Ireland Country Manager, Visa.
Household expenditure was up year-on-year in March, after having ticked down in February, the research showed.
"There was also a spike in expenditure on Household Goods, which rose at its fastest rate since November 2015.” He added.
Face-to-Face
The report showed that the return to growth of overall expenditure mainly reflected signs of revival on the high street, with Face-to-Face expenditure up for the first time since last October (+2.0% year-on-year).
"Although consumer confidence remained weak in March, Visa’s latest CSI signalled a greater willingness to spend at the end of the first quarter," Andrew Harker, associate director at IHS Markit said.
Harker highlighted that spending was up on the back of signs of revival on the high street and returns to growth in sectors such as Clothing & Footwear and Transport & Communication.
"Retailers will hope to see this improving trend continue over the important Easter period, but with political uncertainty remaining to the fore, further hesitancy among consumers can’t be ruled out.” He added.
Spending via eCommerce also increased in March, although the rise of +4.0% was the slowest in six months.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
