Spain | Impact of COVID-19 on consumption in real time and high definition in Sep-21

Card spending in September was 37% higher than in the same month of 2019 (35% in August) driven by the upturn in purchases with Spanish cards. Face-to-face transactions gained traction (26%), while online transactions slowed their progress (72%).

Key points

• Key points:
• The behavior of the demand for services was more positive than that for goods, in line with what has happened since the end of the state of alarm. Their participation in spending exceeded 62%, 5 and 9 points more than in the same period of 2019 and 2020.
• Card purchases were higher than those made in Sep-19 in all sectors, except beauty, fashion and travel. Other services, food, restaurants and leisure continued to lead the recovery in consumption.
• Face-to-face transactions surpassed the 2019 figures in all provinces, except in Araba. Segovia, Ávila, Cádiz, Teruel, Badajoz and Ourense registered growth of over 40%, while in Navarra, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, La Rioja, Madrid and Barcelona they did not reach 15%.
• In line with purchases, card cash withdrawals advanced to just 1% below those of Sep-19 (-6% in August). The weight of refunds remained at 21%.

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