Over €27m was spent on groceries on Easter Saturday, new debit and credit card data from AIB shows.
This was the highest spend in the month for the sector and a 10% jump on the same day last year.
In the month of March spend on groceries increased by 6%, with the biggest increases in Kerry, Monaghan and Cavan.
Overall, spending increased by 2% month on month and 8% year on year.
The data shows that spend on electric vehicle charging increased by 194% compared with last March, and was up 7% month on month.
Meanwhile, spend in service stations was up 7% on last year, and up 4% on the previous month.
Spending in pubs on St Patrick's Day increased 11% on 2023, with over €7m spent by AIB customers in pubs on 17 March in 2024 - the highest spending day for the sector in the month.
Last year, St Patrick’s Day was the highest spending day of the year for pubs.
"Spring is in the air with an increase in spend on homewares and clothing as we all look forward to outside living and warmer weather," said John Brennan, Head of SME Banking at AIB.
"Easter fell in March this year and so grocery spend for the month peaked the day before Easter Sunday as people prepared for meals and gatherings in their homes and perhaps needed to make some last minute Easter egg purchases.
"And it's welcome to see increased spend on electric vehicle charging as our customers continue to make sustainable choices as we transition to a zero carbon economy," he added.
The AIB data published today was compiled from 73 million debit and credit card transactions in store and online last month and has been anonymised and aggregated.
