"Card spending and cash withdrawal in the Baltics somewhat declined as virus case count surged. However, transactions are still holding up better than during the first wave," Swedbank said.
Card spending and cash withdrawal in the fourrth quarter has increased by 3.7% year-on-year (YoY) in Lithuania, while in Latvia and Estonia it remained on average around 6% below last year’s levels, the bank said.
Non-food spending is on a downward trend in all three Baltics.
In Latvia it is notable that spending on 'Home and gardening' has remained consistently up YoY throughout the pandemic.
"This Christmas will reflect the change in habits due to COVID-19 – people will spend less on services, but those, who can afford - more on goods and goodies," Swedbank predicts.
The full data can be viewed online at: https://www.swedbank-research.com/otkoef/english/macro_focus/consumer_spending_11.23/consumer_spending_observer_11.23.pdf
