Though voter turnout low, Israelis flock to malls on municipal election holiday
Shoppers hit the stores and cafes, spending NIS 1.577 billion via credit card transactions, an increase of more than 24% compared to last election day in November 2022
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
While voter turnout nationwide was low at Tuesday’s municipal elections, Israelis flocked to shopping malls and enjoyed meals with their families and friends, leading to one of the best sales days for retailers since the October 7 terror onslaught.
Despite the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza, which is well into its fifth month, and growing tensions along the northern border, the Israeli public took advantage of the election day, a national holiday, to shop and eat in commercial centers and retail outlets, as stores lured shoppers with special promotions and discounts.
National voter turnout was fairly muted, with only 49.5 percent of those eligible to vote on Tuesday casting ballots, after months of delays caused by the war in Gaza.
Shoppers took to the stores and cafes and spent a total of NIS 1.577 billion (some $438.77 million) via credit card transactions on Tuesday, an increase of more than 24% compared to the last election day in November 2022, according to data from Shva, which operates national credit card payment processing systems.
Spending on credit cards was more than 18% higher than the average daily amount of NIS 1.331 billion ($364.76 million) recorded since the beginning of 2024, Shva data showed. During the previous municipal elections, held on October 30, 2018, Israelis spent a total of NIS 840 million (some $225.6 million) using their credit cards.
At restaurants, cafes, and on fast food, Israelis on Tuesday spent about NIS 137 million ($38.1 million), at food chains NIS 211 million ($58.7 million), and on entertainment and leisure NIS 11.7 million ($3.26 million). For clothing and footwear, credit card purchases amounted to NIS 126 million ($35 million), and on electric products and electronics NIS 106 million (nearly $30 million). At pharmaceutical chains, a total of NIS 43.24 million (some $12 million) in credit card purchases were made.
The Azrieli Group, which operates more than 20 shopping malls across the country, said it saw visitor traffic jump by an average of 60% compared with a regular business day. At the Gindi TLV fashion mall in Tel Aviv, by 1 p.m. on Tuesday, about 10,000 visitors had already visited the commercial center.
At the TLV mall, an area for children and families was set up with many activities, including a headphone party, in addition to food stalls that were lined up along stores.
