Consumers used their credit and debit cards more slowly in May but still used them more than they had in May 2010, according to First Data's most recent analysis of consumer card use.

"Card spending growth slowed in May," said Silvio Tavares, division manager of First Data Information and Analytics Solutions, commenting on the card processor's May SpendTrend data. "High gas prices and stubbornly high unemployment constrained growth in most merchant categories."

SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.

The processor reported that higher unemployment and weaker economic conditions negatively impacted consumer spending in May. Year-over-year dollar volume growth slowed to 6.6%, the lowest monthly growth rate in 2011. Year-over-year transaction growth of 5.1% represented the slowest growth over the past 12 months, First Data reported, adding that average ticket values increased 1.4% year-over-year in May, a slight uptick from April and the largest increase in over a year.

“Excluding gasoline stations, average tickets increased 0.5%. Most industries except food/beverage stores and food services/drinking places saw increased average tickets,” the processor reported.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Lending
Payments/Credit/Debit