Bank card data reveals Offaly consumers' shopping habits

Data compiled by AIB Bank from debit and credit card transactions showed that Friday, May 29 - the Friday heading into the June Bank Holiday weekend - was the busiest day for shopping in Offaly since stores reopened after lockdown.

The data was compiled from over one million AIB debit and credit card transactions between May 18 and June 14, and the information was anonymised and aggregated.

AIB found that Offaly consumers were now spending more on clothes, fast food and hardware. The average spend in these sectors, as the country began to reopen, was higher than it had been before the Covid-19 restrictions came into effect.

The data showed that the five busiest shopping days nationally, between May 18 and June 14, were, 1: Friday, May 29 (Friday before June Bank Holiday); 2: Friday, June 12 (Penneys reopened this day); 3: Friday, June 5; 4: Thursday, May 28; 5: Thursday, June 11.

Nationally, Irish people are spending an average of €75 per transaction on clothes, which is up €15 from before Covid-19, as demand built up while stores were closed.

In Offaly, people are spending an average of €68 per transaction on clothes.

AIB said the average spending in Offaly across other sectors during the period between May and June was: Fast food (€19); Take-away food (€31); Hardware (€113).