Spending Monitor: Spending has been looking strong over the summer

Danske Research Team Danske Bank A/S

Danish card and MobilePay spending in August, up to and including 6 August, is up by around 3-4% compared with 2019, according to Danske Bank's spending monitor. Taking price changes and an increasing use of cash - which normally peaks during the summer holiday season - into account, this implies that overall consumer spending has returned to normal over the summer.

Note that there have been revisions to the sample, leading to a downward revision of spending in March and April, but upward revisions of spending in the most recent months - notably in June. This implies that spending using cards and MobilePay had returned to normal levels by June.

The data clearly shows that Danes have changed their holiday patterns. Airline and travel agency spending remains down, with increased gas station spending. Spending in hotels, restaurants and amusement parks has improved consistently over the summer, though this might be due to a higher propensity to use cards when vacationing at home. We track only spending by Danes and not spending in Danish territory, indicating that there are still major challenges for these industries.

Retail spending continues to look solid, lifted by home improvement, clothing and higher grocery store spending, as Danes stay at home this summer.

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Author

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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