Shoppers set for final fling

While the fact Irish shoppers have plans to be the biggest spenders of Europe this Christmas may be read as some kind of perverse confidence in the health of the economy, it could also be regarded as the last hurrah before the gloom sets in.

A survey undertaken by Deloitte & Touche is good news for the retail sector, with Irish shoppers about to deliver another Christmas boom by spending an average of 1,395 per household.

Optimistic economists may well interpret such indulgence as a sign that people are positive about what lies ahead in the New Year. Other figures to emerge from the survey would indicate, however, that the majority of people are having a last fling before the harsh economic reality sets in.