The latest AIB Spend Trend has shown that September had the biggest selling days of the year for tourism and exhibits, on the 16th and 17th of the month as people flocked to Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly for the National Ploughing Championships. Ticket sales were led by customers from Cork, Tipperary, Galway , Limerick and Offaly at the annual event which is the largest of its kind in the world.
September was also a significant month for golf fans. At the start of the month, Rory McIlroy won the Irish Open at The K Club before going on to join Shane Lowry and the rest of Team Europe at the Ryder Cup for their historic win in New York. Their success coincided with a 10% increase in spending at golf clubs and courses, year on year.
Overall spend on cards increased by 10% year on year in September 2025. Spend on groceries increased by 3%, with the average transaction size of €24.57.
Spend on entertainment increased 18% in the 12 months to September 2025, and 7% month on month. There was a significant increase in ticket sales, up 45% year on year. The highest spending day of the year so far for ticket transactions was 3rd September, when tickets went on sale for Electric Picnic 2026. Tickets for The Weeknd’s two gigs in Croke Park also went on sale in September. Spend in cinemas increased by 19% year on year, with the release of The Conjuring: Last Rites, One Battle After Another and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
Additional findings:
- As the summer season came to a close, hospitality spend decreased. Spend in hotels fell by 22% in the month; spend in pubs fell by 26% month on month and 17% year on year; and while spend in restaurants was up 6% over 12 months, it fell by 14% month on month. The biggest decreases were in Kerry (-20%), Wexford and Donegal (-19%).
- It was a good month for spend on digital games, which increased by 25% year on year. 77% of this spending was by men, and people aged between 25 and 34 accounted for 29% of all gaming spend. There were a number of big game releases in September including EA Sports FC 26.
- Electronic spend increased 20%, likely driven by back to school and college spend.
- Spend on clothing fell 6% month on month and spend in department stores fell by 3%.
Speaking about the data, Adrian Moynihan, Head of Consumer at AIB said “September is a busy month as people return from holidays and have that back to school feeling. Overall spend increased 10%; electronics spend increased 20% as people returned to study; and it was a strong month for entertainment which was up 18% overall. The significant increase in ticket sales, up 45% in the year, demonstrates the appetite among people in Ireland for music and culture, with sales for Electric Picnic leading to the highest ticket spending day of the year so far. AIB’s robust data provides unique insights into customer spend patterns and also helps businesses to better understand customer behaviours and plan their activities accordingly.”
The data was compiled from 75 million card transactions carried out by AIB customers in store and online during September 2025. The data has been anonymised and aggregated and features one of the most comprehensive and accurate data sets on consumer spending in Ireland.