Irish consumer spending showed a modest 0.9% increase in December, the sharpest incline since last April.
According to the recently published Visa’s Irish Consumer Spending Index, produced by IHS Markit, despite the rise in spending in December, trends in expenditure remained subdued during the final quarter of 2019 as a whole.
Consumer spending showed a 0.7% year-on-year dip, broadly in line with the falls seen in both the second and third quarters of the year.
“Irish consumer spending was subdued in 2019 in comparison to previous years," said Philip Konopik, Ireland country manager, Visa.
"This reflects that the majority of gains from the economic recovery have arrived and the same levels of increases in household spending that we have seen in recent years cannot be expected."
Online Vs Face-to-Face
eCommerce spending was the leading factor behind the increase in consumer spending, due to Cyber Monday occurring in December 2019, the report showed.
Online expenditure showed a 6.8% during December, compared to the same period the previous year, the strongest rise since January 2019.
Face-to-Face spending, meanwhile, continued to decline, extending the current sequence of decline to four months.
Konopik highlighted, "while spending may have plateaued somewhat in December, it comes as no surprise that sectors like Hotels, Restaurants & Bars and Recreation & Culture saw boosts as the public celebrated Christmas with meals and nights out over the holiday period.”
© 2020 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
