Spending soars as Scottish economy reopens

Scottish Revolut users splashed out in opticians and hairdressers on Wednesday.

Overall spending on Wednesday by users of banking app Revolut, was double the lockdown average, and close to pre Covid levels.

Revolut users pre-load a bank card with money and their spending is tracked on an app. The app has more than quarter of a million users in Scotland.

Spending on opticians was more than double pre lockdown levels, while people also spent more than normal on each haircut, with the average transaction size coming in at £33.37 compared to £30.45 pre lockdown. Women accounted for 59 per cent of the spending on haircare, while 41 per cent of spending was by men.

However, as Scotland’s pubs and restaurants were allowed to reopen fully for the first time since lockdown, the picture was more varied.

Pubs staged a brave rally, with spending up 2,101 per cent compared to the average lockdown spend when they could only serve takeaway pints. Yesterday’s spending was at 73 per cent of an average Wednesday before lockdown.

Overall, the average customer spent £21.58 in the pub on Wednesday, up from £18.69 on an average Wednesday night-out before Covid-19. The size of each round was also up, with the average transaction costing £14.49 compared to £12.43 pre Covid. The average pub-goer bought 1.5 rounds.

Off-licences and wine merchants also saw their sales jump on Wednesday, with spending up to 117 per cent of pre-lockdown levels. The increase could be attributed to the lack of tables in pubs due to social distancing requirements.

Wednesday’s spending in restaurants, however, was more subdued, at just 57 per cent of what would have been spent on an average Wednesday night before lockdown.

a Revolut spokesman said: "Revolut's data shows that the economy is bouncing back, which is great news for Scotland.”

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