Spending in pubs had its highest day for the first three months of the year on 16th March, the day before St Patrick’s Day, according to the AIB Spend Trend for March 2025.
With the big day itself falling on a Monday this year, people took advantage of the long weekend and celebrated on Sunday 16th, with €5.4m spent by AIB customers in pubs that day, up 160% compared to the average day in March.
Two thirds of the spending was by men (66%), while people aged 18 to 24 accounted for almost a quarter of spending. Those aged over 65 accounted for just 7% of the spend. People from Dublin (€19.48), Louth (€18.64) and Wicklow (€18.52)spent the most on their round of drinks that day, while people from Waterford spent the least per round (€14.89).
Spend on cosmetics increased by over a fifth (+22%) year on year, with 83% of this spend by women and 74% of total spend online. Men from Carlow, Longford and Louth were more likely to have spent money on cosmetics while men from Cavan, Sligo and Leitrim were least likely to have bought beauty goods.
Overall spending increased 10% in March year on year, largely driven by online spending which increased 18% year on year. In store spending increased 2% during the same period.
And spend on hardware also increased (+9%) in the 12 months to March 2025, with €161m spent during the month.
The data was compiled from 77 million card transactions carried out by AIB customers in store and online during March 2025 and has been anonymised and aggregated. Data provided by AIB features one of the most comprehensive and accurate data sets on consumer spending in Ireland.
Speaking about the data, Adrian Moynihan, Head of Consumer at AIB said “St Patrick’s Day celebrations contributed to another positive month for pubs in March, with Sunday 16th March the biggest day for spending in the sector so far this year. Interestingly, the cheapest round of drink was in Waterford and the most expensive was in Dublin.
The data also confirms that consumers are choosing to spend more and more of their money online, with an 18% increase in online spend in the 12 months to March 2025. Many sectors have benefitted from this continued trend in consumer behaviour, particularly sectors such as the beauty industry, with a 22% increase in cosmetic spend in the year, with the vast majority of sales online. Hardware spend is also up in the past year, by 9% as more and more of us invest in our homes, a trend we expect to see continue into the summer months ahead.
AIB’s data insights offer customers crucial information about how, when and where they are spending their money and in turn, these insights allow businesses to plan effectively, so they can best support customers.”
