Covid Christmas spirit sparks 84% surge in online charitable donations

Restaurant spending ahead of December 2019 until lockdown measures reintroduced on Christmas Eve

New figures from Bank of Ireland suggest Irish customers felt particularly charitable this Covid Christmastime with an 84% surge in online charitable donations last month compared to the same month last year

New figures from Bank of Ireland suggest Irish customers felt particularly charitable at Christmas time with an 84% surge in online charitable donations last month compared to the same month last year. 

Overall, the debit card analysis from the Irish bank showed there was an 18% increase in consumer spending in December 2020, with significant spikes in spending on sporting goods (up 36%) clothes (up 22%) and cards, gift and novelty items (up 23%) when compared to December 2019.

Unsurprisingly, spending on dining and restaurants was down by 12% compared to the previous year’s figures. 

Bank of Ireland noted spending had been trending ahead of December 2019 in the sector.

However, spending fell sharply once lockdown restrictions were re-imposed on Christmas Eve.

The bank also noted a fall in spending online in December (42% of total spend) when compared to the previous month (55% in November) as people availed of the opportunity to shop more in stores once they reopened at the start of December.

Commenting on these debit card spending patterns, Ger Thompson, head of current account banking at Bank of Ireland said: “An 18% overall rise in consumer spending in December when compared to the same month in 2019 does not come as a major surprise, given that many people have had their spending opportunities limited throughout the year.” 

“As the country re-opened at the beginning of December a lot of pent up consumer demand was unleashed, with the data showing that more consumers went back to the shops once their doors opened."

"While our analysis reveals that overall restaurant spending fell by 12% year on year, the sector was actually on track to have a better month than in 2019 had it remained open for the entire month.”