Lockdown sent shoppers online for pre-Christmas spree, Revolut data suggests

The lockdown of non-essential retail throughout November did not prevent Irish consumers from shopping but instead sent them online for a pre-Christmas e-commerce spree, according to data from the fintech payments platform, Revolut.

Monthly spending data gleaned from Revolut’s more than 1 million Irish users shows that overall consumer spending actually grew by 1 per cent in November compared to the same month last year, even though almost the entire hospitality sector and most shops were shut by anti-virus restrictions.

This is a clear break from the behaviour of consumers during the spring lockdown, when overall consumer spending fell initially by close to a third.

The proportion of shopping that was done online this November also doubled compared to a year ago, with 54 per cent of purchases completed online, Revolut says.

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This suggests that the various “shop local” campaigns such as Green Friday, together with increased e-commerce capabilities of Irish retailers, had an effect in preventing some of the leakage of online sales to websites based abroad.

Spending habits

The Revolut platform’s payments data allows it to drill down into the sectoral spending habits of its users. Its data suggests that many Irish consumers used the November lockdown to spend increasing amounts on gifts and other items for Christmas online.

Spending on toy shops, for example, was up 73 per cent compared to November a year ago, suggesting parents used lockdown to put in early orders of gifts for children well ahead of the Christmas rush.

Spending on electronics was up 45 per cent on a year ago, while sportswear purchases were up 83 per cent. Just 3 per cent of grocery shopping done by Revolut’s base was completed online, suggesting e-commerce still has a long way to go in that sector, which was unaffected by lockdown.

Total spending on jewellers was down by a fifth over the month compared to November a year ago, suggesting the sector is among those where consumers really prefer their purchases to be conducted face-to-face.

Total spending on bookshops rose 37 per cent, however, as the sector’s digital reach continued to give it a lifeline through lockdown. Total spending on florists rose 142 per cent.

An analysis of the figures that was provided to Revolut by Trinity College economic professor, Paul Scanlon, finds that while some of the elevated spending "likely arises from a front-loading of seasonal spending in anticipation of December crowds, it also reflects a lockdown that was less restrictive than the pre-summer one".