Denmark: The danes return to hairdressers in force

Danske Research Team Danske Bank A/S

Danish card and Mobile Pay spending, up to the week ending on11Aprilshows spending at around 6% above normal levels, when accounting for the fact that there was 1 less shopping day last week than in the same week of 2019, due to the difference in timing off Easter. Taking into account that cash spending is down compared to 2019, this translates to spending only slightly above normal.

Last Tuesday, hairdressers massage parlours and tattoo artists were allowed to reopen under restrictions. The first results look very strong, despite of Monday being closed due to Easter, spending in hairdressers where 47.5% above normal. This is stronger than the week of the reopening after the lockdown last spring.

Another encouraging data point is spending on plane tickets, which has started to increase slightly compared to earlier in the year. From being down by more than 85% compared to 2019, people are now “only” spending 75% less than normal. There is still a very long way to go, but as travel restrictions are set to become less tight over the coming weeks and months, we should start to see further improvement.

The payout of holiday back-pay, which started to roll out in the days before Easter, are making consumers well-positioned for strong spending in the coming weeks. So far, more than DKK30bn has been applied for (before taxes).

The next step in the reopening comes on 21 April, where restaurants will reopen for outdoor service, and shopping malls. Despite restrictions,we expect this to give a further lift to spending.

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Danske Research Team

Danske Bank A/S

Research is part of Danske Bank Markets and operate as Danske Bank's research department. The department monitors financial markets and economic trends of relevance to Danske Bank Markets and its clients.

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