Consumer expenditure recovers with spend of USD 42.65 Bn in 2024
Consumer expenditure in Sri Lanka has registered a healthy recovery from the economic downturn, with a spend of USD 42.65 billion registering for 2024. This has seen a sharp increase in the past 18 months, said Vice President -& Head of Products, India & South Asia, Visa, Ramakrishnan Gopalan.
“The country is showing a remarkable recovery from the downturn, with more opportunities for high end consumption of leisure and holidays coming up, in tandem with the government’s focus on growing tourism.” Inflation remains low as tourism has grown and multi -faceted value added services for high net worth individuals are opening up in the country.
He also said that after the pandemic the shift towards digital has increased and even knowledge towards digital literacy has increased. He said that the high end customer’s during the pandemic that was extensively buying consumer goods are now shifting towards lifestyle products and travel. “Due to this we have re-launched the Visa Infinity cards with several new features.”
These include a special whatsapp chat robot that will help to create special travel and diving packages all over the world. “This Visa 24×7 Concierge Service which goes beyond the standard special offers, giving the discerning high end consumers the feeling of exclusivity more value for their spends.”
The service also includes access to the Visa Luxury Hotel collection, Airport Limo Transfer program and priority pass lounge access as well.
“The affluent category in Sri Lanka is growing – exclusive offers by airlines and hotels are increasingly shared in the media.”
The high-net-worth consumer, hence, seeks more from cards than plain vanilla rewards and points. They desire that their success be visible; they focus on personalized services and prefer exclusive, preferential benefits
“As the world opened up after the lockdown, this discerning consumer segment, like its peers around the world, places greater value on experiences and memories than accumulating points when they spend on cards,” Country Manager, Sri Lanka & Maldives, Avanthi Colombage Visa. The spending capacity of the affluent class contributes directly to economic growth and reflects the increased use of credit cards.” This rich set of benefits also includes great discounts on educational courses, music, streaming, gaming, travel and other places where we see the interest of these consumers. She also said that Visa, which celebrated their 35th year last year, announced Visa pledging LKR 13 million ($40,000) to support women-led SMBs. “This commitment was aimed at improving the economic outcomes of women-led small and medium businesses (SMBs) across Sri Lanka.”
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