July – third successive fall in consumer spend

While household spending was down again last month, this time by a more modest 0.3%, the Hotels, Restaurants & Bars sector registered a slight slowdown in growth at just 2.0% and was among five of the eight spending sectors which posted growth according to Visa’s Irish Consumer Spending Index.

While household spending was down again last month, this time by a more modest 0.3%, the Hotels, Restaurants & Bars sector registered a slight slowdown in growth at just 2.0% and was among five of the eight spending sectors which posted growth according to Visa’s Irish Consumer Spending Index. Produced by IHS Markit, this measures expenditure across all payment types (cash, cheques and electronic payments).

Recreation & Culture also saw growth pick up to 2.7%. This sector, as well as Hotels, Restaurants & Bars, continued to show uplifts in spend year-on-year, said Philip Konopik, Visa’s Ireland Country Manager, while Andrew Harker, Associate Director at IHS Markit, added, “Although improving from the worrying picture seen in June, a third successive decline in consumer spending in July extends the generally weak trends seen in recent months.”