Coronavirus: Supermarket spending surged on day restrictions announced

Spending in supermarkets on the March day when the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that schools were closing dramatically outstripped even the busiest shopping before last Christmas, new data have indicated.

The fresh figures from AIB suggest that spending on groceries on Thursday March 12th was 20 per cent higher than the average during Christmas week 2019 and 60 per cent up on the same day the previous week.

The figures suggest that supermarket spending has continued to surge as the coronavirus crisis continues with the amount spent on groceries up about 30 per cent when compared with the same period last year.

People aged between 45 and 54 are spending 38 per cent more than normal which is higher than any other age group. The 25 to 34 cohort is spending an average of 36 per cent more while the over 65s have recorded the smallest increase in grocery spending, up 3.4 per cent on normal levels.

Covid-19, cocooning, lockdown: the frequency of pandemic words in reporting

---

60,000 tax-saver ticket holders to be compensated due to Covid-19 restrictions

---

Fears for agrifood sector as three meat plants confirm Covid cases

---

Coronavirus: Ireland is one island with two very different death rates

---

In broader terms and across all retailers, each day since March 13th has seen a decline in spending, with spending on St Patrick’s Day falling by 47 per cent - the biggest decline of any day since the crisis started.

Over 65s have recorded the largest fall drop in spending as they have adhered to Government advice, with spending down 27 per cent among this age group. Spending by those under 25 fell by 21 per cent, while those between the ages of 35-44 recorded a drop of 13 per cent - the smallest decline of any age group.

The data collected by AIB since Covid-19 restrictions were put in place also show that Irish consumers have started to spend more online with clothing retailers performing strongly.

The biggest online spending increase on a single day was on Friday 10th April, Good Friday, when consumers spent 107 per cent more than normal on clothing.

This increase in clothing spend on this day was largely driven by under 25s as they spent 249 per cent more than normal. Meanwhile, those over the age of 65 spent 37 per cent more than usual buying clothes online on the same day.