The three days of the National Ploughing Championships were the biggest selling days of the year so far for tourism and exhibits.

The September AIB Spend Trend data showed that the agriculture event at Ratheniska, Co Laois bucked the trend in consumer spending for the month.

Ticket sales were led by customers from Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, Galway and Wexford at the annual show which is the largest of its kind in the world.

However, overall consumer spending is down by 2% compared to August.

Speaking about the data, AIB head of consumer, Adrian Moynihan said the drop in spending is expected due to the end of the summer period.

“The National Ploughing Championships did however buck this trend and drove the biggest spend for tourism and exhibits so far this year.

“As well as the Ploughing Championships, September is also synonymous for back-to-school and this can be seen throughout the spend data this month.”

Other sectors

The monthly data was compiled from 71 million debit and credit card transactions in store and online during September 2024.

As Debs season gets underway, September also saw the highest spending days for clothing rental on Monday 30 September and Thursday 26 September respectively; and the highest spending day for cosmetics, on Tuesday 10 September.

The hospitality sector had a quieter month, with hotel spend down 19%, restaurant spend down 12% and pub spend down 11%, likely driven by back to school and work following summer holidays.

Meanwhile, electric vehicle charging spend increased 5% in September compared to the previous month and it increased 56% compared to September 2023.

“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,” added Moynihan.