A combination of wet weather and the premiere of the Minecraft movie meant April was a bumper month for Irish cinemas.
According to the latest AIB Spend Trend for the month, spending at the movies over the Easter holidays was 47% up on the same month last year.
Mid-week ticket sales over Easter were up but the best day of the entire month for cinema spend was Saturday 5th April, which was the opening weekend for ‘A Minecraft Movie’.
Tourism and hospitality spend in hotels also increased by 11% year on year, while restaurant spend also rose, up 10% year on year.
It was also a strong month for car rental with spend up 10% year on year, and the number of transactions up 19%. However, the average transaction size fell from €115 to €106.
Spend on Electric Vehicle (EV) charging was up significantly over the 12 months (+78%) while airline spend was down 8% over 12 months with the average online airline transaction at €247 in April.
The data was compiled from 74 million card transactions carried out by AIB customers in store and online during April 2025.
Data provided by AIB features one of the most comprehensive and accurate data sets on consumer spending in Ireland.
Overall spend increased 11% year on year, with online spending rising 16% and in store spend climbing 6%.
The data also showed 55% of overall card spend was online, increasing to 67% for those aged 25-34. In comparison, for those aged over 55, the majority of their spend was in store (58%).
Mayo (47%), Leitrim (48%) and Roscommon (48%) spend the least online, while Dublin (61%), Louth (58%) and Kildare (55%) spend the most online.
April was also a strong month for grocery spend which was up 8% year on year. People in Offaly, Cavan and Roscommon spent the most on groceries per transaction while people in Waterford, Louth and Dublin spent the least.
AIB said Easter Sunday (20th April) had the lowest card spend of any day so far in 2025.
Speaking about the data, Adrian Moynihan, Head of Consumer at AIB, said: “Overall, it’s very positive to see continued strong consumer spend levels in April, up 11% on the same period last year.
"With the Easter holidays traditionally a busy time for hotels and restaurants as people take advantage of the break, April saw strong spending increases across the hospitality sector which is a positive sign for businesses.
"As we know, you can never rely on Irish weather and true to form, we had a lot of rain over the Easter break, which coupled with a big movie release for children, led to a strong month for cinema spend.
"It’s particularly positive to see the significant increase in spend on EV charging over the last 12 months, up 78%, as customers go green when it comes to transport.
"These data insights are crucial for businesses to help them plan accordingly and support our customers in their choices.”
