Consumer spending rise in Dublin driven by expenditure on entertainment

Spending on entertainment grew by 7.1% compared to 2023. 

Consumer spending in Dublin grew by 2.9% during the first three months of the year, outpacing the rest of the country, largely driven by increasing expenditure on entertainment, new data shows.

According to the latest MasterCard Spending Pulse report, produced on behalf of the four Dublin local authorities, the value of retail spending increased by 2.9% between January and March compared to the same period last year.

The rest of the country combined saw consumer spending increase by 2.7% year-on-year in comparison. 

Entertainment remained the primary driver of growth with an increase of 7.1% compared to last year while spending on necessities grew by 4.4%. Spending on household goods increased by a more modest 2%.

Online spending also saw positive growth, up 2.4% year-on-year.

However, the report did note that there was a drop in discretionary spending of 0.6% compared to last year.

Post-pandemic growth

Global Head of Spending Pulse at MasterCard Michael McNamara said growth rates are now “normalising as we move away from the deep declines experienced during the pandemic”.

While spending did grow compared to last year, the rate of expansion was at its weakest in three years with the report suggesting that this indicates that “consumer spending patterns are now in a period of relative stability”.

Tourism spending returned to growth over the first three months of the year rising 4.7% compared to 2023 but spending by US tourists continued to decline.

Spending from this market — which is is very important to the Dublin and national economies 

— declined by 3.3% compared to the period of  October to December last year, which will be of concern heading into the summer season.

Spending by tourists from China also saw a decline with a reduction of 23.2% so far this year.

On the other hand, spending amongst French tourists rose by over 26% compared to the end of 2023. Spending by UK and German tourists were up 5.5% and 3.3% respectively.

It has also been a disappointing start to 2024 for the hospitality sector which saw a 2.5% decline in spending at hotels, bars and restaurants between January and March compared to the end of 2023.

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According to the latest purchasing manager’s index for Dublin, the private sector saw steady growth during the first three months of the year outpacing growth seen elsewhere in the country.

The PMI is a single-figure indicator of a sector’s performance, with any figure greater than 50.0 indicating growth.

The PMI for Dublin rose to 53.1 between January and March while the rest of Ireland’s PMI stood at 51.1.

This activity growth in Dublin was partly driven by the services sector, with a PMI of 54.1, while the construction sector returned to growth with a PMI of 51.9.