Hospitality, Rec/Culture only 2 to see September spend increase
“The only positive notes in September were growth for the Hotels, Restaurants & Bars and Recreation & Culture sectors, which is testament to the shift in shopping behaviour with people keen to spend their money on experiences rather than material goods.”
Produced by IHS Markit, the Index measures expenditure across all payment types (cash, cheques and electronic payments) and it signalled a renewed downturn of 2.0% year-on-year in household expenditure in September. This was the second-fastest decline since the series began in September 2014, only behind that seen in June.
September’s spending reduction followed a rise of 0.6% in August. Spending has now decreased in four of the past five months. On a quarterly basis, Q3 saw a fall in spending of 0.6% year-on-year, broadly similar to the 0.9% reduction seen in Q2.
“We’re seeing a clear trend of a slowdown in Irish consumer spending with falls in household expenditure in four of the last five months,” noted Philip Konopik, Ireland Country Manager for Visa, “The only positive notes in September were growth for the Hotels, Restaurants & Bars and Recreation & Culture sectors, which is testament to the shift in shopping behaviour with people keen to spend their money on experiences rather than material goods.”
Andrew Harker, Associate Director at IHS Markit, added, “These are challenging times for Irish retailers, with consumers seemingly reining-in spending in line with declining confidence”.
