Israelis spent a record NIS 54.9 billion in July as consumption rebounds
Credit card spending hit an all-time high, driven by restaurants, food chains and fuel purchases, while online transactions crossed NIS 1 billion a day.
Israelis opened their wallets, both physical and digital. and spent a record NIS 54.9 billion in July, according to data from Shva, the operator of Israel’s payment infrastructure.
The summer months are typically among the busiest periods for consumer spending, so a record was not entirely unexpected. However, the scale of the new high was notable. Spending rose by a seemingly modest 5.8% compared with July 2025, but that comparison comes against a period when the economy was already experiencing a post-war rebound in consumption following the end of Operation Rising Lion. The previous record was set just two months earlier, in May, when Israelis spent NIS 52.4 billion.
A particularly sharp increase was recorded in spending at restaurants, cafes and fast-food chains, which rose at nearly twice the overall rate, climbing 11.6% to approximately NIS 4 billion. Spending on food chains, the largest household expenditure category, increased 6.6% to NIS 6.6 billion.
Higher fuel prices also contributed to the increase in spending. The price of gasoline reached NIS 7.48 per liter last July, compared with NIS 7.13 per liter a year earlier, helping drive a 6.9% increase in fuel spending to approximately NIS 2 billion.
Not all sectors benefited from the broader consumption surge. Spending on flights with Israeli airlines fell 12.3% to NIS 485 million, mainly due to the return of foreign airlines to the Israeli market, reducing demand for domestic carriers.
The spending surge was reflected across both physical retail and online commerce. During June and July, daily online spending exceeded NIS 1 billion, with online transactions accounting for approximately 58% of total credit card spending, in line with the average level recorded over the previous 12 months.
Cash usage also remained strong. Israelis withdrew approximately NIS 6 billion from ATMs, the highest level since August 2023, before the outbreak of the Swords of Iron war. The figures suggest that the increase in credit card spending was not merely the result of consumers shifting away from cash, but reflected broader growth in consumption, driven by a combination of higher prices and increased economic activity.
