Consumer spending increased in January – Visa
Visa Europe's latest transaction figures show more positive growth in expenditure across the retail sector in Ireland
Print8 February 2016
Following a record December, the latest figures from the Visa Europe Consumer Spending Index show that the Christmas rush was no fluke. There was no slowdown in consumer spending in January, with a year-on-year increase of 7.2% across all payment methods. With the increase of 6.5% back in December, we can see that growth is most definitely in action.
The report, published this morning by Visa Europe, also said that this increase in spending was tied to wage increases and reduced unemployment; wages grew by 2.7% in Q3 2015, while the rate of unemployment sits at 8.6%, the lowest since the end of 2008.
Consumers also continued to move towards eCommerce, the report said, while the highest individual increase was in the area of Recreation & Culture. This sector enjoyed a formidable 14.7% (a new record); the report speculates this is to the booking of holidays in January. This was backed up by a statment from the Irish Travel Agents Association, reporting an unprecedented level of booking enquiries during January. Some reported sales increases of up to 40%.
Transport & Communictions saw a 7.8% increase, as related to the sale of more than 39,000 new cars in January.
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