Debit and credit card spending fell 8% in September, driven by a 16% decline in social spending, as consumers tightened their belts, according to the latest figures from Bank of Ireland.
The downward trend in spending is in line with September 2021 when the outlay fell 6% following the August summer holidays, with spending on hotels and resorts receding by 26%.
Pub spending dropped 28% while spending in restaurants was down 22%. People also spent less on takeaway (-18%) as children return to school.
The retail sector witnessed widespread declines in spending, including on men's and women's clothing (-12%), in supermarkets (-10%), in florists (-9%) and in beauty spas (-7%). Spending in bakeries also fell by a fifth (-19%) last month.
All counties recorded declines in spending, with near double-digit drops in Dublin (-9%), Sligo (-9%), Cork (-8%), Mayo (-8%) and Limerick (-8%) and the shallowest falls posted in Cavan and Louth (both -6%).
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Naturally, spending by Irish consumers abroad dropped precipitously in a number of European countries, including Greece (-24%), Portugal (-22%), France (-19%) and Spain (-19%), while total airline spending fell by 8%.
“August is usually a month where workers shut down their laptops, children pack for an adventure and holiday season kicks into overdrive," said Jilly Clarkin, head of customer journeys and SME markets at Bank of Ireland.
"Therefore, it won’t come as much of a surprise for many people to see the September spending stats indicating that consumers nationwide pulled back a little last month and saved up for what could well be a harsh winter.
"The belt tightening is evident across all sections of society, from teenagers (13 – 17) who posted a 23% spending drop, to young professionals in the 26-35 age bracket whose spending fell by 10% in September, all the way up to the over 65s whose outlay was 4% lower than in the previous month.
"With consumers currently enduring cost of living challenges exacerbated by rising energy prices and stubborn inflation hikes, it will be interesting to see if these more restrained spending patterns continue over the coming months.”
The Bank of Ireland figures also show spending declines in car rentals (-38%) and tourist attractions (-31%), highlighting the decline in domestic tourism, as well as newsagents (-20%) and service stations (-9%).
(Pic: Getty Images)
