NICOSIA — Spending most of their time at home during COVID-19 lockdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the pandemic, Cypriots used the time to shop online, turning more toward cards than cash.

A Bank of Cyprus survey found they were especially keen to use credit and debit cards and online transactions for supermarkets, pharmacies and insurance and bought less at restaurants, shops, department stores, hair salons, and personal care, said The Cyprus Mail.

“A significant trend is also observed during the lockdown period, where average spending per transaction is 17 percent higher when compared with the preceding period and the corresponding period in 2019, indicating that consumers during the lockdown were performing fewer but larger purchases. This may reflect strategic bulk buy to reduce the number of trips, rather than price inflation,” the study shows, the paper also said.

Spending in electronics, computers, peripherals and music stores, was not as negatively affected during the lockdown, likely because of deliveries but spending on medical services declined as it was hard to make visits to doctors.