The data from the IAA indicate that this is an increase of 31.4% from last year • Average amount for online transaction - NIS 409, and in branch - NIS 191 • 78% increase in branch purchases as well

• Buy more. Supermarket shopping cart // Photo: Joshua Yosef

In the first three quarters of the year, a 31.4% surge in retail transactions totaled NIS 2.65 billion - according to data from the IBA on credit card activity in food chains in Israel. This represents 11.2% of total credit purchases in the industry since the beginning of 2019.

Sheva, an automated bank services company that operates the national payment systems, has collected the activity and purchases of the Israeli public through credit cards in the leading retail chains in Israel. These are all companies holding at least ten branches in the country.

Sheva data shows that the phenomenon of Internet purchases in the food industry is gaining momentum, and during the first three quarters of 2019, a 31.4% increase in the amount of purchases made by Israelis in retail chains was made in transactions without credit card, ie online transactions.

The total amount of these transactions in January-September was NIS 2.65 billion. This compares with NIS 2.01 billion in the corresponding period in 2018. The amount of purchases without a ticket presentation in 2019 constitutes 11.2% of Israelis' total spending in the food industry, which totaled NIS 23.53 billion.

In the same period in 2018, these transactions totaled NIS 2.01 billion, accounting for 9.2% of total credit card transactions in the industry.

The data collected by the IAA also show that the total amount of credit card purchases in the retail chains amounted to NIS 23.54 billion in January-September this year.

This represents an increase of 7.8% compared to the first three quarters of 2018, when Israelis spent a total of NIS 21.83 billion in the food industry.

More interesting data was found in the average amount per transaction carried out in the branch compared to a transaction without credit card presentation. In the three quarters of 2019, the average amount per online transaction was NIS 409.62, while the average amount for credit card transactions at branches was NIS 191.12 since the beginning of the year.

In the same period in 2018, the average amount for a remote credit transaction was NIS 467.08, and the average amount for a branch transaction was NIS 194.12.