December Dining/Restaurant spend up 66% on November

Overall credit and debit card spend increased by 21% in December over that in November, largely driven by an increase in spending in the retail sector and spending in the restaurants/dining sector.

The latest daily card payments data from the Central Bank covers the period up to the 25th of January 2021 and capturing the reintroduction of Level 5 restrictions in late December.

Since the beginning of January, spending has been lower than the average daily spending in January last year. For the week up to the 25th of January, total card spending was down 13% on the daily average for January last year.

December’s spend on the Restaurant and Dining (€356.4 million) and Entertainment (€240.2 million) sub-sectors was below December 2019 levels by 12% and 10%, respectively. But the Restaurant & Dining sector card spend was up 66% over that in November (€214.97 million) to its highest level since August following the easing of restrictions in December. This clearly shows a strong desire by consumers to get back out and spend in the hospitality sector just as soon as restrictions ease.

Entertainment spend in December grew by 24% month-on-month, recording its highest level in 2020.