As Black Friday nears, Ireland’s shopping habits are under the microscope.

Last year, AIB customers completed 1.05 million online card transactions worth €120 million in a single day. The question now is - how can we shop smarter and more sustainably?

Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show, futurist and sustainability journalist, Joe Linehan, revealed just how rapidly Ireland’s online spending has grown.

“AIB customers alone had over a million transactions [last year]. Between 10 and 11am there were 19 transactions happening every second, all online,” she told Pat. 

“It’s absolutely mindblowing,” she stated.

Photograph: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie. 24/12/2021

Linehan emphasised that people are making excessive and unnecessary payments every year:

“Ireland is spending a lot here, more than our EU counterparts,” said the futurist, adding that “37 percent of [Irish] people are going to make a purchase that they did not plan for.”

Returning items

The sustainability journalist discussed how shopping online doesn’t just increase spending, it leads to more returns.

“When you’re buying online, you’re three times more likely to return the item," she said.

“KPMG did a study and found that at least 12 percent of all items purchased on Black Friday are returned.”

But the problem goes further than just overspending, Linehan explained how these returns lead to large amounts of wastage. 

“This time of year is when we purchase over half of our small electronics, only one in three are being recycled,” she told the show. 

“This is really the time for maximum consumerism and minimal thought for recycling.”

Linehan urged listeners not to let electronics end up in landfill:

“If you have your eye on something, or if there’s a great deal, then Black Friday is amazing, but when it comes to those impulse purchases, or things you don't need, then are unfortunately going to landfill.”

The importance of recycling

She reminded people that recycling electricals is simple:

“It’s easy to take electrical stuff to the recycling centre and the shops that sell stuff to you, they take it back." 

“And if you’re going and buying stuff in person over the next few weeks, bring all those broken things, bring the old things, just hand them in. They have bins there. It’s so, so easy to do,” she added.

Joe advised those who are making Black Friday purchases to shop in stores where possible, to decrease the amount of potential returns being made.

“If you need to buy it online, absolutely. [But] If you can buy it in person, it's such a great way [to reduce waste].”

Written by Annemarie Roberts