Festive season spending: Absa report detects financially stretched consumer

South Africa’s 2025 festive season delivered the expected seasonal uplift, but Absa’s latest merchant spend analytics data revealed a more cautious and financially stretched consumer beneath the surface.

While card spending rose by 10% month-on-month in December, the year-on-year spend declined by 3%.

This meant that although consumers continued to participate in festive cycles, real purchasing power remained under pressure.

Absa Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) released its latest report on consumer trends on Wednesday.

Food, which made up almost half of the December spending basket, underperformed and dragged overall performance lower.

At the same time, online spend grew by 17% year-on-year and credit card usage accelerated to 8%, signalling a shift toward digital convenience and increased reliance on credit to manage household budgets.

Managing executive of the consumer sector at Absa CIB, Isana Cordier, said the data pointed to a consumer who was active but trading down, prioritising essentials and spending more cautiously.

But Cordier said the clearest indication of changing consumer behaviour came in November, when retailers front-load programmes in the weeks leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Card spending and transaction volumes in November grew by just 1% year-on-year, while the average transaction size dropped by 1%.

This meant that while consumers were still active, they were spending less each time they shopped.

Coming into 2026, Cordier said the evolving behaviour would be a key trend shaping retail and broader economic performance.