Israeli Consumer Spending Hits Record High in September, Driven by Online Purchases

Israeli consumers spent a record 53.252 billion shekels in September, a 6.2% increase compared to the same month last year, according to data from the Israel Credit Cards Company (Shva). The daily average spending also reached a new high of 1.775 billion shekels, marking the fourth consecutive month this average has surpassed 1.7 billion shekels. This daily average represents a 1.7% rise from August.

While overall spending increased, consumer habits shifted, with online transactions showing significant growth. Online spending in September totaled 30.961 billion shekels, a 5.5% increase from September of the previous year. The daily average for online transactions hit a record 1.032 billion shekels, up 4.4% from August.

In contrast, spending in physical stores saw a slight decrease in daily average. The average daily spending in brick-and-mortar stores fell to 743.062 million shekels in September, down 2% from August. However, compared to September of the previous year, physical store spending still rose by 7.2% to 22.918 billion shekels.

Usage of cash also continued to decline. Israelis withdrew 5.612 billion shekels from ATMs in September, a 1.8% decrease from the previous year. The daily average cash withdrawal was 187.067 million shekels, down approximately 2% from August.

The data indicates a clear consumer trend: while Israelis are spending more, they are increasingly shifting their purchases to online platforms and reducing cash usage, highlighting the growing importance of e-commerce in daily shopping habits.