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Bloomberg
Consumer spending in Miami and Fort Lauderdale plunged more than 57 percent from a year earlier as Hurricane Irma caused residents to evacuate or take shelter, according to a report from First Data Corp.
Information released by the Atlanta-based company, which tracks shopping activity through the transactions it processes, shows consumption peaked September 5 and then cratered September 8, two days before Irma made landfall. A narrower gauge of retail spending that strips out industries such as restaurants and grocery stores shows an even steeper decline of 72 percent for the period of September 8 to September 10.
“During the days of the hurricane, spending went down more dramatically,†said Rishi Chhabra, First Data’s vice president of information and analytics. He said the trend was more pronounced for Irma than Harvey.