Gloomy outlook? PostFinance reckons the weather could be turning.
Keystone-SDA
In October, consumer spending grew more strongly than in previous months, despite high energy prices and low confidence weighing on household budgets, according to the PostFinance bank.
According to PostFinance’s indicator, based on card payments by its 2.4 million customers, household spending rose by 1.6% compared to the same month last year. This marks an uptick on the 0.9% growth recorded in September and 0.8% in August.
This greater readiness to spend comes as consumer confidence is still at its lowest levels in years. PostFinance says high energy and fuel prices continue to weigh on the general economic climate.
October saw a slight rise in day-to-day spending by households, the bank said. Particularly noticeable was an increase in purchases at department stores, while spending on pet products also increased significantly. Following a decline in September, spending on leisure has also bounced back, both for sports equipment and activities, as well as other forms of hobbies and recreation.
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The beauty and wellness sector meanwhile was stable: overall spending in this area has been virtually unchanged since July. A rise in purchases of cosmetics and beauty treatments was offset, amongst other things, by a dip in spending on clothing.
Trends in the tourism sector were the opposite. Spending on travel continued to fall, having peaked in July. In October, the decline was particularly evident in hotel bookings, which recorded a significant drop. Payments for car hires also fell.
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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
