Israelis Spend Hundreds of Millions in Last-Minute Holiday Shopping Rush

Israeli consumers spent over 459 million shekels ($123 million) on credit cards in just three hours on the morning of Friday, September 29, 2023, the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Data released by Shva, a credit card processing company, revealed that between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM, spending reached 459.06 million shekels.

This figure represents a 2.7% increase compared to the same period last year, when 446.77 million shekels were spent. Over the past three years, morning spending on the eve of Rosh Hashanah has surged by more than 80 million shekels. In 2024, spending was 422.93 million shekels, and in 2023, before the outbreak of the Swords of Iron War, it was 378.39 million shekels. This year's spending is over 36 million shekels higher than in 2024.

The data highlights the intense last-minute shopping activity before the holiday. A peak minute occurred at 10:56 AM, with over 3.44 million shekels processed through more than 18,000 transactions in a single minute, underscoring the concentration of consumer activity in the final hours before the holiday.

Overall, the figures indicate continued high consumer activity, with spending in the morning hours exceeding last year's levels and showing a significant increase compared to previous years.