Marginal Rise In Face-to-Face Spending In August Ends Sequence Of Decline

By Donna Ahern
Marginal Rise In Face-to-Face Spending In August Ends Sequence Of Decline

Face-to-Face expenditure showed a slight increase last month, which has ended a four-month sequence of decline.

Spending on the high street was up +0.3% year-on-year, a marginal rise but one that was indicative of a first improvement in expenditure in four months, according to the Visa’s Irish Consumer Spending Index, produced by IHS Markit.

“Irish consumer spending remains flat, but there was a number of positive developments this month. August ended a negative three-month sequence for Face-to-Face merchants, with a 0.3% year-on-year rise," said Philip Konopik, Ireland Country Manager, Visa.

Spending Rises 

A marginal rise in expenditure year-on-year in August, the first time that this has been the case since April, research shows.

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The survey also revealed that spending was up by 0.4%, cancelling out a 0.3% reduction in July.

That said, the slight rate of growth still represented subdued consumer spending trends relative to the five-year series history.

The rate of expansion in eCommerce spending was also a slight in 0.7% in August and slower than that recorded in July.

Online expenditure has now risen in two successive months following a marginal decline in June.

Eight Monitored Sectors

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All but two of the eight monitored sectors saw spending increase on an annual basis in August.

Solid increases were also recorded in the Health & Education which showed a 4.1% increase, last month and in a similar vein the Household Goods category jumped by 4%.

Food & Drink, meanwhile, posted a return to growth in August, with a rise of +2.7% year-on-year ending a three-month sequence of decline.

"Similarly, the majority of sectors saw growth, with Hotels, Restaurants & Bars standing out as the top performer with a +5.0% rise in spending.” Konopik added.

Modest increases in expenditure was seen in Recreation & Culture which was up 1.4% and Transport & Communication up by 0.7%.

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Meanwhile, the two sectors that showed reductions in spend were Clothing & Footwear which fell by 2.6% and Miscellaneous Goods & Services decreased by 5.4%.

© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition. 

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