Visa data reveals Lankans spent more on food and apparel this holiday season

• Visa card spends up 12% and transactions up 17% in December 2017

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, recently released spent data for the month of December 2017, indicating a spike in spending across categories in particular, across apparel, food and groceries and home improvement by Sri Lankan consumers during the holiday season.

“This December we witnessed strong spends by Sri Lankan consumers across various categories. True to the spirit of the holiday season, spends were concentrated around travel, lodging, F&B, apparel and retail goods. e-commerce transactions grew by 28 percent on a YoY basis in line with the growing preference for online shopping across Sri Lankan consumers,” said Visa Sri Lanka and Maldives Country Manager Anthony Watson.

Total card spends during the month of December grew by 12 percent with credit cards accounting of 53 percent of the spends. In comparison to a normal month, spends grew 1.2X during December 2017, primarily led by strong growth in purchases of apparels and accessories, food and groceries and home improvement for face to face transactions. e-commerce spend growth were led by spends in education andgovernment expenses, professional services and airline spends.

December 2017 also witnessed firm growth in international spends by Sri Lankan consumers clocking a 10 percent YoY growth, indicating Sri Lankan consumer’s preference for international travel as well as shopping on international platforms.

“These are exciting times for the payment industry in Sri Lanka. As financial services expand their portfolio of digital enabled payment gateways, we are happy to note that more and more Sri Lankans are choosing to pay with the card, helping them realise the true benefits of going digital,” said Watson.