Spending flat last month after festive splurge

SPENDING by householders was flat last month as the bills for Christmas arrived.

New figures from the Visa Consumer Spending Index show expenditure in shops was down 5pc in January, but online spending rose nearly 10pc.

Overall consumer spending was up just 0.01pc in January compared with a year ago.

In a separate survey, one in five people said they were in debt in January because they overspent at Christmas.

The research, commissioned by One4All, found almost half of people say January is financially the most difficult month of the year.

Visa Ireland’s country manager Philip Konopik said: “Once again, there was a notable contrast between the high street and e-commerce with online retailers recording almost double-digit growth, while the high street saw the sharpest fall in expenditure since we started the index.”

The clothing and footwear sector recorded a seventh consecutive month of declining sales, with a drop of 5pc year on year. But household goods shopping was up 8.4pc.

A rise in prices in hotels, restaurants and bars, blamed on higher Vat being imposed on the hospitality sector, did not hold back spending. There was a 4.4pc increase in expenditure in the month compared with a year ago.

The spending index is compiled by HIS Markit.

A fifth of people were in debt last month because of overspending at Christmas, according to gift card issuer One4all.

The financial strain is even more significant for parents. More than a third of those with children between the ages of six and 12 said they ran into debt in January after borrowing or using credit cards to pay for Christmas.