Supermarket aisles seen quieter than expected ahead of Rosh Hashanah, despite NIS 500m. spent

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, Israeli supermarkets experienced unusually low foot traffic on Friday morning, despite nearly NIS 459 million in credit card spending between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Retailers attributed the quiet aisles to earlier shopping, increased overseas travel, and economic pressures. A branch manager noted, "I have never seen anything like this. We were just talking about it as a team, that there are barely any people." While spending increased by 2.7% compared to last year, this rise is primarily due to higher prices for holiday staples, not a surge in shoppers. Key products like avocados and dry onions saw significant price jumps, contributing to the higher overall expenditure despite fewer customers.