Return to socialising fuels rise in monthly spending

Spending in pubs grew by almost a third in February as the end of Dry January and the Six Nations led to increased socialising 

Saturday February 1 was the busiest day for spending so far this year in pubs, which was also the day of the Ireland versus England rugby match in the Aviva Stadium. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Spending in pubs rose by almost a third in February as customers returned to socialising after a quiet January, new data from AIB reveals.

Publishing its spend trend report on Friday, the lender found that spending in restaurants up 16% in February when compared with the previous month, with the rise likely driven by the St Brigid’s Day long weekend, the Six Nations rugby matches and the end of Dry January.

Saturday February 1 was the busiest day for spending so far this year in pubs, which was also the day of the Ireland versus England rugby match in the Aviva Stadium. The biggest increase in spending in pubs was in Cavan, up 42%, Monaghan up 38%, and Wexford which rose by 37%.

Spend on EV charging points across the country also increased, rising by 12% month-on-month and a massive 83% year-on-year, as more customers turn to greener modes of transport. Spend in service stations increased by 9% in the same period, AIB added.

Storm Éowyn led to an exceptionally quiet day on Friday January 24, with the number of in-store transactions down 38% compared with an average day in 2025. 

Following Storm Éowyn, spending in hardware stores was up 8% in February on a monthly basis, with significant increases in Mayo, Leitrim and Kerry. 

The data was compiled from almost 67 million card transactions carried out by AIB customers in store and online during February 2025 and has been anonymised and aggregated.

Overall card spend in February increased by 5% month-on-month and 10% year-on-year. Online card spending was a significant driver of this, up 15% year-on-year, reflecting growing trends in online and digital transactions.

Cinema spend peaked for the year to date on Saturday 15 February, the day after Valentine’s Day and following the release of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.

“It’s very welcome to see overall spending up 5% in February and such strong spending across a number of sectors in February, particularly the hospitality sector which would have had a quiet January after the Christmas festivities," Adrian Moynihan, Head of Consumer at AIB. 

"Rugby fans enjoying Ireland’s Six Nations success provided a great boost to the industry, along with the bank holiday weekend at the start of the month.

"The impact of Storm Éowyn was evident on the day it hit but also in the aftermath, with increased spend on hardware and decreased spend on utilities in some of the worst affected areas."