REVEALED: Offaly consumers spending habits since the impact of Covid-19

AIB data has revealed the spending habits of Irish consumers since Covid-19 started to impact the country at the beginning of March.

The data has been compiled from over one million transactions between March 8 and April 11 and has been anonymised and aggregated.

Overall, Offaly consumers are spending 19% less than normal since Covid-19 started to impact Ireland.

However, Offaly consumers are spending 32% more on groceries, with those between the age of 35 and 44 recording the biggest increase at 35%.

On March 12, when schools closed and people were asked to work from home, grocery spend nationally was 60% higher compared with the previous Thursday as people rushed to buy necessities. Offaly consumers spent an average of €90 per grocery transaction on this day, compared with an average of only €58 the previous Thursday.

Since a lot of stores were required to close as a result of Covid-19, consumers have started to spend more online, with online clothing retailers performing strongly. The biggest online spending increase on a single day was on Friday, April 10, Good Friday, when consumers spent 107% more than normal on clothing.