Consumers spend more on groceries and restaurants, less on clothes and airport shopping

Irish consumers are spending more on groceries, restaurants and fuel while cutting back on leisure activities and clothes shopping as the cost-of-living squeeze intensifies, according to fintech Revolut.

The group’s latest consumer spending report suggests consumers here are — month on month — spending more on essentials, a reflection of higher prices generally.

The figures for July show that spending on airlines, cruise lines, tourist attractions and hotels and resorts was up 13.7 per cent, 52 per cent, 19 per cent, 80.5 per cent respectively on the previous month.

However, the data also suggests that some travel-goers are skipping the shops on their travels with airport spending down by 11 per cent and duty free down nearly 19 per cent. Spending on car rental similarly hasn’t kept up with inflation and was down 1 per cent on the figure for June.

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Revolut said the data suggests consumers are looking for cheaper brands in the supermarkets in order to keep money aside for treats at restaurants, Revolut said.

“Similarly, the decrease in spending on clothes and days out could be to prioritise travel. After a couple of years of restricted travel, consumers are looking for a summer away,” it said. “However, they’re being careful as to where they’re spending, focusing their money on hotel and flight bookings, and dodging the airport shops.”

On an annual basis, spending on groceries actually dropped by 4 per cent per consumer in July 2022, compared with July 2021, suggesting many are looking for cheaper products. Spending on fuel was up 26 per cent per consumer in July 2022, compared with the same month in the previous year. Revolut said many took to public transport, as spending on buses was up 6.5 per cent per consumer in July, compared with June, while spending on trains was up 6.6 per cent.

As the price of a cheeseburger in McDonald’s went up to €1.70 last month, the new Revolut data shows that spending at fast-food restaurants was up 5.7 per cent per consumer in July, compared with the previous month. As a whole, spending at restaurants rose by 11.3 per cent per consumer last month when compared with June.