Case Study
Soldo Spending Trends
An authoritative analysis of European business spending data from 2024–2025, providing a roadmap for 2026. It reveals critical shifts in AI investment, T&E recovery, and the rise of decentralized departmental spend. Benchmarking 2025 data to navigate 2026. Discover how 25,000+ European businesses are shifting their capital toward AI, T&E, and digital growth.
- Topic
- Data Management and Analytics
- Published
- 23 Apr 2026
In 2025, the business world shifted. The era of simple cost-cutting ended, replaced by a sophisticated focus on cost optimization. But as spending becomes more decentralized across teams, locations, and AI tools, how do you know if your organization is leading or lagging?
The Spring Index 2026 analyzes real-world spending data from over 25,000 companies across seven European markets. From the 175% explosion in AI investment to the surprising resilience of departmental T&E, this report provides the hard evidence finance leaders need to build a future-ready strategy.
Key Highlights:
AI Spending Surge: Total investment in AI tools saw a 175% increase in 2025, reaching €2.5 million across the customer base.
T&E Resurgence: Travel and expense spend rose by 20% year-on-year, adding €26 million in total volume as face-to-face business returns.
Departmental Decentralization: Marketing and departmental spend increased by an average of 22%, driven largely by small companies (1–49 employees).
Operational Dominance: Day-to-day operational spend remains the majority (63%) of all business transactions.
Cost Optimization vs. Cutting: A strategic shift in finance leadership from "reactive saving" to "proactive optimization."
The SaaS "Sticky" Factor: Despite budget fluctuations, software subscriptions remain stable as teams rely on them for daily work.
European Market Variance: France saw a 105% rise in marketing spend among large firms, while Spain saw a 39% decrease, highlighting regional economic shifts.
Digital Advertising Growth: Marketing-specific spend added €48 million in 2025 across the UK, Italy, France, and the Netherlands.
Predictability Challenges: How distributed spend across roles and locations is raising the bar for real-time reporting and control.
The Future-Ready Leader: The report defines 2026 success through sustained investment in both human talent and emerging technology.
Benchmarking for 2026: Comparative data from 25,000+ companies to help leaders plan with a forward-looking view.