MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Over the past week, Russian consumers have reduced overall spending, but have begun to buy alcohol more often, the cost of which increased by more than 20%, Sberbank said in a consumer activity study of Russians from March 23 to 29.

"The general surge in consumer spending is coming to an end. The reduction in spending from March 23 to 29 was 6.2% compared to the previous week. The volume of spending in real terms returned to last year's level. The growth compared to the comparable week of 2019 is only 0.2%. The strongest growth was seen in the Wine Shops category (+21.9% week-on-week, +31.8% in annual terms)," the study said.

In addition, from March 23 to 29, Russians reduced travel expenses. Thus, taxi spending, car sharing, parking and toll roads spending was 20-50% lower than a year earlier. "Obviously, Russians are beginning to consciously minimize movement within settlements. This is logically fits with a sharp reduction in spending in the Entertainment category (-78.1% compared with the comparable week of 2019), as well as in the Clothing, Shoes and Accessories segments (-51%), as well as Cafes and Restaurants (-42.6%)," the study indicated.

Sberbank believes that by the end of March there will be a surge in spending due to two weeks of active sales in such large categories as food and household appliances.