Spending remained flat in April as the increase in the cost of living started to impact consumers' pockets, up only 0.41% overall during the month, according to AIB, which said that, on average, consumers spent more than €80 million a day on cards throughout April, which was the same amount spent per day in March, however, the amount of transactions in April declined by two million as consumers spent more per transaction.
Hotels, Restaurants And Pubs
However, that did not stop consumers making the most of the extended Easter Break, with spending across the hotel (+19%), restaurant (+9%) and pubs (+4%) sectors all being up during the month.
While Dublin accounted for the highest amount of overall hotel spend during the month of April, it was coastal destinations that saw the highest increase in spending, with Donegal being up 27% followed by Sligo (26%) and Kerry (25%).
AIB said that the data was compiled from over one million card transactions that were carried out by Irish consumers during April of this year and has been anonymised and aggregated, and all comparisons are based on April versus March unless otherwise stated. Based on this data, AIB also revealed that:
- online transactions were down 4% during April while digital wallet transactions were up 8% on March;
- spending on airlines (-3%), electronics (-4%) and health and beauty (-3%) all fell during the month, while spending on groceries (+1%) and hardware (+1%) remained relatively flat, and spending on clothing was up (+11%);
- spending among individuals under the age of 25 was down during the month (-2%), but spending among all other age groups was up in April, with the highest increase being from individuals between the ages of 55 and 64, (+4%);
- and Irish consumers spent more than €63,000 per hour in the hotel sector in April 2022 last month.
Statement By Head Of SME At AIB
Head of SME at AIB John Brennan stated, "April consumer spending was flat overall when compared with the previous month. Consumers also transacted over two million times less than March despite spending the same amount. This means that their average transaction was higher during April, likely due to bigger ticket spend over the Easter break. The hospitality and staycation sector enjoyed a positive April with school holidays driving a rise in consumer spending in seaside towns and hotels across the country."
© 2022 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
