Irish consumers again the 'most anxious in Europe'

New lockdown and the banning of click-and-collect services mean retailers and consumers face a tough few weeks ahead, says expert

Shoppers on St Patrick St, Cork, as the third lockdown tightens on retailers. File picture: Dan Linehan

Ireland's consumers are the most anxious in Europe as Covid-19 cases surged this month, according to Deloitte.

Its survey was carried out in the week to January 6 as cases in the Republic started to increase to reach the highest in the world based on population, and death rates soared. The survey includes 19 countries.  

"While Irish consumers are once again the most anxious in Europe — having last held the position back in October 2020 — the research shows us that this is driven in the most part by health concerns, with Ireland scoring comparatively well in terms of financial concerns," said Daniel Murray, a Deloitte Ireland partner. 

“With spending intent down across the board following heightened Christmas spending, the introduction of a new lockdown and the banning of click-and-collect services, retailers and consumers face a tough few weeks ahead," he said.

Superdry reports losses

Meanwhile, Superdry became the latest British retailer to report deep first-half losses. It said it had another big drop in sales in the Christmas quarter after Covid-19 lockdowns shut its stores.

Co-founder and chief executiver Julian Dunkerton said the figures hid “some massive positives”, including strong e-commerce sales and a better product mix. 

The group made an underlying pretax loss of £10.6m (€11.9m) in the six months to October 24, compared with a loss of £2.3m in the same period in 2019. 

• Additional reporting Reuters