Growth of Irish consumer spending accelerates at start of 2016
The latest Visa Europe Irish Consumer Spending Index has been released today. It shows there was no slowdown in consumer expenditure in January after a year-on-year increase of +7.2% was recorded during the month across all payment methods.
This was faster than the increase of +6.5% seen in December and the second-sharpest expansion since the series began in September 2014 (just behind November 2015’s record).
The data shows that Irish consumers continued to increase their spending via eCommerce at a strong pace in January.
There was a larger increase in face-to-face expenditure in January than seen at the end of the year, with the rate of expansion accelerating to +5.6%. This was the second-sharpest growth rate since the series began.
Consumer spending has been helped by higher wages and reduced unemployment. Wages rose 2.7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2015, while the rate of unemployment is at 8.6%, the lowest since the end of 2008.
Growth in consumer spending was recorded across each of the sectors covered in January, with the fastest increase again in Recreation & Culture. The sector registered a considerable expansion of +14.7%.
Furthermore, increased consumer spending on leisure activities in January was highlighted by a double-digit expansion in spending in the Hotels, Restaurants & Bars category (+12.2%). The Transport & Communication sector was boosted by +7.8% growth, with car sales proving to be a key factor.
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