Spending by Irish customers of digital banking operator, Revolut, rose 53 per cent on Monday compared to an average day during lockdown, as many consumers took advantage of the latest phase of economic reopening to visit hairdressers, bars and restaurants.
Revolut, which offers services including prepaid debit cards, analysed spending data for its Irish customer base for Monday across a range of consumer categories, such as hotels and taxis. The company claims an Irish base of more than one million customers.
It says the data showed that average spending by its customers on Monday was almost one-quarter higher than a normal, pre-virus Monday, suggesting an element of pent-up consumer demand was released at the beginning of the week, as restrictions eased further.
But even with this spike, spending by Revolut customers on Monday was still 6 per cent below an average day before the pandemic hit.
Average spend in hairdressers and barbers was triple a normal pre-virus Monday, as customers flocked to trim their lockdown locks.
This comparison may have been slightly exaggerated, however, by the fact that, before the virus hit, many traditional mens barber shops outside of city centre locations tend to close on Mondays. Spending on hairdressers on Monday was still 72 per cent ahead of an average pre-virus day, however.
Spending on spa services was 50 per cent ahead of an average pre-virus day, while the data suggested Revolut customers also spent heavily on personal services such as chiropractors and dentists.
Spending on pubs, which reopened Monday if they also serve food, was ahead of a normal pre-virus Monday, but still less than half of the pre-lockdown daily average.
