Consumers splash the cash with record card spending in November

Spending surged in the run-up to Christmas with consumers also splashing out in the New Year sales, data shows.

New figures from the Central Bank shows total card spending rose by 8 per cent in December versus the same month a year earlier. While there was a decline in the days after Christmas Day, consumers still clocked up €1.14 billion on credit and debit cards in the last week of 2021.

Prior to December, an increase in spending was noticeable with total card spend, including ATM withdrawal, reaching €8.4 billion in November, up 14 per cent versus the previous month and the highest figure ever recorded for the month by the financial regulator.

Spending on retail jumped by 20 per cent in November versus the previous month, driven by a 29 per cent surge in spend on entertainment. Spending on clothing and electrical goods rose by 37 per cent and 38 per cent respectively on the back of pre-Christmas purchases and Black Friday sales.

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Online spending increased by 21 per cent in November to €3.4 billion with in-store spending up 12 per cent to €3.8 billion. Point of sale (PoS) spend was up 16 per cent on a monthly basis to €7.2 billion with ATM withdrawals unchanged at €1.1 billion.