Mon, Mar 18th 2024
After a subdued start to the year, Switzerland sees a rebound in consumer spending, particularly in leisure and travel, signalling a robust economic pulse.
After a slow start to 2024, consumer spending in Switzerland is now back at a solid level. According to Postfinance calculations, consumer spending rose by 1.5% in February compared to the same month last year.
This significant increase also results in a positive year-on-year comparison after adjusting for inflation. In January, consumer spending advanced by 0.5 percent year-on-year following a decline of 0.8 percent in December.
According to the press release, the Swiss are currently spending an above-average amount of money on leisure activities and travel in particular. Postfinance shows the developments in the various sub-indicators compared to the previous month.
In the “fun & leisure” sub-indicator, which covers leisure activities, restaurant visits are gaining in popularity. By contrast, spending on personal hobbies fell slightly. And in the “Travel” sub-indicator, turnover in hotels and car rentals increased.
Meanwhile, spending on everyday consumer goods has remained surprisingly stable for around six months, according to the report. In February, the values for the sub-categories cars and pets hardly changed. Meanwhile, a slight increase was seen in the “Beauty & Wellness” sub-indicator.
Every month, Postfinance anonymously evaluates the payment transactions of its 2.5 million customers. The consumption indicator calculated from this shows consumer spending adjusted for sales day and public holiday effects in a year-on-year comparison or on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the previous month for the sub-indicators.
©Keystone/SDA
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