Revolut today published an interesting new report on consumer spending habits in Italy, in light of the new partial lockdown for the Coronavirus.
From last week all bars, pubs and restaurants in Italy had to close at 11 PM or midnight in an attempt to limit the spread of contagion, only a few months after the actual reopening of activities. Yesterday the Italian government announced that the closing time would be earlier at 6 PM, starting from today October 26th.
The Revolut team thus analyzed the spending of over 500,000 customers in Italy, showing the behaviour during the first – and last – weekend closing at 11 PM or midnight.
Revolut: spending data in Italy compared to the UK
Contrary to what happened in the UK – where many people wanted to have their last night out before the pubs closed with the new curfew, with a 22% increase in spending compared to the previous week – the spending of Italians in bars and pubs shows a decrease, compared to the previous weekend, of 53% on Friday and 50% on Saturday, probably as a result of fears related to the significant increase in contagions in recent days.
However, after yesterday’s announcement by the Italian government to anticipate the closing time of bars and restaurants to 6 PM from today, Italians have decided to treat themselves to one last night out before a long month of evenings at home and in fact, spending in bars on Sunday evening has increased by 88% compared to last Sunday.
These figures were shared by Revolut, which has over half a million users in the country and constantly informs on this type of spending trends in Italy and beyond. These data are even more interesting when considering the strange historical period in which we are living due to the Covid-19 pandemic that is changing all our habits.
