Spending On Hotel, Restaurant And Pub Services Decreased In September

Spending on hotel, restaurant and pub services decreased in September in Ireland, according to AIB's latest Spend Trend data.

Details

AIB stated, "Spending among those between 18-25 rose 7% in September as students returned to colleges throughout the country. It was the second highest increase in spending among all age groups, narrowly behind those over the age of 65 who recorded an 8% increase in spending during the month.

"At the same time, spending across the hospitality sector was down during the month, with spend on hotels down 25%, restaurants down 7% and pubs down 11%.

"The only exception in the hospitality sector was consumer spending on airlines which rose 26% during the month of September - the seventh consecutive month on month increase since the AIB Spend Trend series began.

"Spending on health and beauty (+10%), electronics (+7%), hardware (+6), homewares (2%) and groceries (+1%), all increased during the month of September.

"Speaking about the data, John Brennan, Head of SME Banking at AIB, said, 'As we've seen with previous reports, consumer spending in Ireland is seasonal with various sectors seeing different spend profiles depending on the time of year. This data can be very useful for businesses as they plan based on activity levels throughout the year.

"'With regard to the Spend Trend for September, as expected the data shows that spend across the domestic hospitality sector has fallen off after a high during the summer months. However, spending on consumer goods such as electronics, hardware, groceries and homewares increased during the month. Spending among those aged between 18 and 25 has increased as students returned to colleges across the country. As the global economy begins to open up for international travel we have also seen a significant increase in airline bookings. Irish consumers have been crucial in supporting the domestic economy over the past 18 months and we must continue to support all of these businesses, including those in the hospitality sector as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.'

"September Overview

"Overall, consumer spending continued to rise in September, up 4% on August despite spending in the hospitality sector decreasing. Card usage continued to rise with a 0.55% increase in Chip & Pin usage and a 6% increase in Digital Wallet usage during September. E-Commerce spending also rose 11% in September having flattened out during the summer months.

"Meanwhile, the busiest day for spending during the month was 24^th September (payday), while the quietest day for spending was 12^th September. However, when it came to online spending, the busiest day was 30^th  September while the quietest day for online shopping was 5^th September.

Additional Information

AIB added, "Spending across other sectors during September was as follows:

"The AIB Spend Trend features one of the most comprehensive and accurate data sets on consumer spending in Ireland. Data was compiled from AIB Debit and Credit card spending from over 54 million transactions between 1st and 30th September 2021. To account for the difference in the number of days in each month the AIB Spend Trend looks at average daily spend instead of total monthly spend, providing an accurate reflection of consumer spending habits."

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