Following Tisha B'Av: Jerusalem's cafes and restaurants recorded a drop in revenue
Globes presents an index examining the volume of credit card purchases in Israel. Phoenix Gamma data points to double-digit declines in most sectors, mainly due to the customs of the nine days.
The Tisha B'Av fast and the nine days preceding it, the security tension with Iran, and the heavy heatwave led to a decrease in credit card purchase volumes in almost all major consumer sectors in the economy — this is according to data from the Phoenix Gamma index. The weakest day of the week was Thursday, when the fast took place.
The sharpest decline was recorded in the tourism sector — a drop of 24% in purchase volumes compared to the previous week, and 10% compared to the same period last year. The figure is derived from both a 17% decrease in the number of transactions and a 9% decrease in the average transaction amount. It is possible that the reason for this is that many have already booked their summer vacations, while last-minute bookers preferred to continue waiting due to security uncertainty.
The electrical appliances sector fell by 22% in purchase volumes, and the computer and mobile sector fell by 21%. However, there is a difference between the two: in the electrical appliances sector, the decline is in both the number of transactions and the average transaction amount, while in the computer sector, the number of transactions fell relatively moderately, while the average transaction amount fell sharply.
For the fashion industry, this was another week of weakening, with the decline in purchase volumes this time being 18% compared to the previous week. The main part of the decline was due to a decrease in the number of transactions, while the average transaction amount remained almost unchanged. Here, the influence of the heatwave is evident: purchase volumes in street shops fell by 25%, compared to a decline that amounted to "only" 17% in shopping malls.
The fact that it is not customary to eat meat during the nine days also affected the performance of cafes and restaurants. The general turnover fell by 15% compared to the previous week, but in the Jerusalem district, it was much sharper. In fact, the capital city led the declines in the sector, as cafes there recorded a 40% drop in purchase volumes, restaurants fell by 31%, and fast food by 21%.
According to Nadav Lachmani, CEO of Control from Phoenix Gamma:
"The declines recorded this week represent a point-in-time slowdown, and we expect that in the coming week, ahead of Tu B'Av, we will see an increase in purchase volumes in the gift, fashion, jewelry, cosmetics, flower, and other sectors — of course, if the security situation allows it."
