What South Africans spend their money on
Consumer spending in South Africa significantly picks up in December versus the rest of the year, and where people spend their money shifts heavily towards entertainment and recreation.
In January, this shifts again towards more practical spending, such as groceries, electronics, clothing, stationary, and other necessities.
Discovery Bank revealed this in its Festive SpendTrend report for 2024/2025, which compiles data from its clients to analyse their spending behaviour and how they use the bank’s rewards programme.
This data enables the bank to create products better suited to its clients’ needs and personalise rewards.
The bank now has over one million clients from which to collect this data, and its offering covers all major income segments in South Africa. However, its client mix is skewed towards wealthier individuals.
CEO Hylton Kallner said the bank focuses on how spending trends shift throughout the year to encourage better financial decision-making from its clients and improve its offering.
This results in far better financial outcomes for Discovery Bank clients, with around 42% having enough money left over at the end of every month to save.
In December, however, this changes as more clients deplete their salary with increased spending, and only a third have any money left over at the end of the month.
Crucially, salaries in December also tend to be depleted more quickly than other months during the year, leaving South Africans with a lengthy wait until their January paycheque.
Discovery Bank clients spend an average of 15% more in December 2024 than during other months of the year and they spent 7% more than in December 2023.
This is shown in the graphics below, courtesy of Discovery Bank.


Alongside increased spending, South Africans purchased different products and services in December than the rest of the year.
For example, spending on outdoor activities spiked 62% in December compared to the rest of the year.
Spending also increased 51% on movies in December compared to the rest of the year, while Discovery Bank clients spent 32% more on children’s toys and 26% more on eating out.
Kallner singled out a significant trend in the data as one of the most fascinating – the sharp change in spending behaviour towards alcohol in December versus the rest of the year and to January.
This shift indicates a noticeable return to work and daily responsibilities as many people prepared for the upcoming year.
To emphasise this trend, Discovery Bank compared spending on alcohol to expenditure on stationery over December and the first two weeks of January.
Spending on alcohol tends to peak during the period from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day as stationery purchases plunge.
However, spending on stationery skyrockets after 1 January as the back-to-school season gets in full swing and South Africans return to the office.
Over the festive season, Discovery Bank clients also spend heavily on travel and make full use of the bank’s Vitality rewards programme.
Over the festive period between 8 December and 14 January, there were 79,000 Vitality travellers who booked 158,000 seats.
This means that Vitality travellers filled the equivalent of 900 planes and flew a distance that’s equal to 420 trips to the moon and back.


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