Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE LATEST CONSUMER figures show the terrible July weather did not deter people from heading out on the town and spending their hard-earned cash.
Visa Europe’s Irish consumer spending index revealed consumer spend on all payment types increased by more than 6% year-on-year in July.
Despite the continued poor weather in July, the rise in Irish consumer spending was unabated. Household spending increased sharply in a number of areas including on hotels, restaurants and bars ( up 7.9%) and recreation and culture (up 12%).
Irish consumers appear to be rediscovering their style as spending on clothing and footwear was notable, experiencing nine months of consecutive increases. In this sector there has been a year-on-year rise of 7.8%.
Conor Langford, Country Manager, Ireland, Visa Europe said economic growth surpassed expectations over the last six months.
“Our July data shows that despite the bad weather across the country in July, consumers have remained very bright in their outlook. People have been enjoying their nights out, whether it’s on the town in restaurants or pubs, or escaping the bad weather by catching a movie in the cinema,” he said.
A trend of fashion makeovers is also underway, with spending on clothing and shoes increasing for the ninth month in a row as people pick up swimwear for holidays abroad and uniforms for children returning to school in September.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Would the bad weather not actually contribute to a higher level of spending on indoor pass times such as eating in restaurants and drinking in bars? It’s not like you can go out to the park and spend it on ice cream..
Sure the weather would drive you to drink!
And most commentators on here tell us the country’s fukced.
It doesn’t matter how tight things are, women will still go out and buy clothes, make up and go to hairdressers. The ‘beauty’ industry and womens fashion thrived during the recession
And the other commentators here tell us we’re in full recovery, who’d have guessed.
plenty of rain fell but you dont see them dropping water charges…
wow John, did you hear the Garth Brooks concerts were cancelled too??
wow larry , your about 12 months behind there bud. where ave you been hiding?
Jesus Christ! Give it a rest!!! We’re not the only country that pays for water. In fact we were one of the few that didn’t. The system was badly in need of an upgrade. Do I agree with Urish Water? no. Do I agree with water charges? If it results in an upgraded system with fewer leaks and beer water quality, yes.
Newsflash… we already pay for water just like every other country.
David, not that I think people should be commenting on the Irish Water situation on an article like this, but I couldn’t pass the comment without pointing out a few things.
1. The money collected for Irish Water, even if there was 100% compliance would only cover the costs of charging for it.
2. Our water supply is heading for privatisation under the company of Irish water. It’s why money hasn’t been invested in the infrastructure for years. A common tactic used by governments around the world to sell public utilities to private companies to make a bomb load of cash for all involved in it’s sale.
3. Lots of people are including myself our fine to pay for water. Water that goes towards improving the infrastructure. Not to pay for a company who uses something we need to live as a way to generate capital for the higher tier of society.
I understand you said you don’t agree with Irish Water as a company. But the comment at first glance seems to say that the system they now are putting in place is one that’s needed!
I don’t agree with the system in the slightest!!
Your not correct John, when you say every other country……A lot of Asian countries charge for water that you can’t drink at all..You dare not drink the water, it’s not even fit to wash clothes..
To put an end to this the Goverment should have a referendum on making Irish water being privatised or not…..Look after the people that can’t pay by all means…….Some piping hasn’t been changed since 1920, this is unreal..Now we are back to wasting millions of litres every day, because people don’t care.
I would say the higher spending on clothes would have more to do with the higher price of clothes
Applies to Visa card holders which they claim accounts for 1/3 of spending in Ireland. It appears this is value based only. The cpi has increased by 2 points Jan-jun this year and spending always drops off in June. The last couple of years spending has then taken a big jump in July. Retail sales are still 6-7 points down on what they were in 2005. The cpi is based on 2011 which makes comparison a bit difficult but rising so some of that would be accounting for sales value rises. Value of money has an impact and the population is recorded as having increased by 475,000 from 2005 to 2015. So a 6% increase is to be welcomed but it’s really a bit low all things considered.
Of course they are down on 2005 and the madness of that era….
@John S. Madness aside, 2005 is the base year used on the CSO website. I’m trying to make the point that I looked up the CSO figures where I could compare tabulated results. These are better indicators than Visa Europes consumer spending index.
“Conor Langford, Country Manager, Ireland, Visa Europe said economic growth surpassed expectations over the last six months.”
If economic growth is based on consumer spending then everyone spending all of their money means the good times are back……not.
I take it Guinness sponsored this article!!
‘Ireland goes on the lash despite bad weather’ could be a headline from any day of the week over the past 500 or so years. Any chance of some actual news?
Try a free BBQ or marquee from http://www.myirishmarket.ie free draw this week on all summer gear
have your say