Wolt, Shein and Temu at the top: The spending of Israeli children in the summer of 2026

Children's expenses jumped by 25% compared to routine days during the summer vacation, with Wolt and online giants Shein and Temu positioned at the top of the children's spending list with an average expenditure of 213 shekels per month.

This is according to the MAX index for Israeli children's spending during the 2026 summer vacation. Israeli children also spend tens of shekels on gaming platforms.

In general, about 49% of children's expenses during the summer vacation are dedicated to food, with about 30% of this budget directed to restaurants and deliveries. Also in the food sector, the budget is directed to vending machines, drinks, and sweets with an average expenditure of 38 shekels. 13.2% of the children's budget is intended for clothing and footwear and 11% for leisure and entertainment.

In the summer months, there was a 20% increase in children's purchases in the clothing and footwear sector compared to the rest of the year, with children in Haifa leading the clothing purchase mix with 14% of the turnover. The favorite clothing chains of Israeli children are ZARA, Bershka, and Delta with an average expenditure of about 150 shekels per month.

As mentioned, leisure and entertainment expenses on children's cards are focused on online gaming platforms. Entertainment takes up a significant share of the children's budget in the summer, with the leisure and entertainment category accounting for about 11.5% of total expenses during the summer vacation, and it recorded growth in all regions of the country.

Roblox, Sony, Apple, and Google appear in the list of leading businesses in children's spending, with an average of 151 shekels per month, with the main expenses at Apple being for cloud services, music, and purchases in the Apple Store. The average expenditure on Sony and Roblox games in the summer months is 148 shekels per month.

The MAX index for children's spending is based on an analysis of expenditure data on tens of thousands of MyMAX cards, prepaid cards intended for use by children and teenagers. The vacation months were defined as June-August, while the routine data are the average expenses for the months of January to May 2026.

The average expenditure per card rose by about 24% in the summer vacation months compared to the routine months, from 320 shekels in January to 393 shekels in July. Gush Dan leads in average expenditure per card, which stood at about 437 shekels in July, while in the Galilee and the South, the average expenditure stood at about 356 shekels, a gap of about 23%.

The volumes of children's expenses on transportation grew by 29% in the summer months, expenses on books and office supplies grew by 16%, and expenses on leisure and entertainment by 9%. The record holders for travel on public transport are the children of Haifa. In the sector of books and back-to-school equipment, the children of the Sharon and Jerusalem are in the lead, and in the leisure and entertainment sector, the children of the Galilee lead.

Rafi Shauli, VP of Private Clients at MAX, stated:

"Financial education from a young age is a value that parents can give their children and thereby help them get to know the financial world. The use of a prepaid card is an opportunity for economic discourse between parents and children based on a real experience of use, with transparency and parental control. The ability to give children a tool for safe, secure, and controlled payment is significant for the choice to grant financial independence to children, and along the way to teach them to manage a budget and plan expenses in advance."