Israelis Spent Over 53 Billion Shekels During Holiday Month

September, a month packed with Jewish holidays, saw a record-breaking daily average expenditure of 1.775 billion shekels on credit cards within Israel, a 1.7% increase from the previous record set in August 2026. This marks the fourth consecutive month where the daily spending average exceeded 1.7 billion shekels, with online transactions being the primary driver of this growth. Total credit card spending in September 2026 reached 53.252 billion shekels, a 6.2% rise compared to 50.132 billion shekels in September 2025. Food was the largest expenditure category, accounting for 6.6 billion shekels, with prices also increasing.

The surge in spending is attributed to September 2026 encompassing the entirety of the High Holidays and the intermediate days of Sukkot, a period typically associated with significant expenses. Leisure and entertainment saw the largest jump in spending, increasing by 17.78% to 319.248 million shekels, largely due to the week-long holiday period. Spending on hotels and accommodation within Israel rose by 17.59% to 1.174 billion shekels. Restaurants, cafes, and fast food outlets experienced an 11% increase in credit card spending, totaling 3.639 billion shekels.

Travel agencies saw a 10% rise in credit card spending, reaching 1.131 billion shekels, while spending on Israeli airlines increased by 3.84% to 379.175 million shekels. Clothing, footwear, electronics, and pharmaceuticals also saw moderate increases between 5.25% and 7.53%. Food-related expenses, including butcher shops, bakeries, and convenience stores, increased by 9.84% to 1.987 billion shekels, with supermarket spending up 2.72% to 6.643 billion shekels, primarily due to price hikes.

Online spending continued its upward trend, with the monthly average reaching 30.961 billion shekels, a 5.5% increase from September 2025. The daily average for online transactions hit a new high of 1.032 billion shekels. Conversely, daily spending in physical stores saw a 2% decrease to 743.062 million shekels, though overall physical store spending was up 7.2% compared to the previous year. Cash withdrawals from ATMs also declined by 1.8% to 5.612 billion shekels.

Expenditure on fuel saw a significant increase of 8.39%, reaching 1.913 billion shekels, driven by price increases and increased travel during the holidays. There's a notable trend of increased fuel purchases in the last two days of each month since June, following price hikes announced by the Ministry of Energy. This has resulted in an accumulated 42% increase in spending on fuel during these specific two-day periods.