April 10, 2012 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Card Spending Growth Stable in March; Spring Promotional Activity, Warm Weather Encouraged Discretionary Spend
ATLANTA--()--First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today released its First Data SpendTrend® analysis for the full month of March 2012 compared to March 2011. SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.
“The mild weather across much of the nation in March encouraged retailers to promote sales of spring merchandise, providing an additional catalyst to customer traffic”
Year-over-year dollar volume growth was 8.7% in March, compared to February’s 8.9% growth. Mild temperatures and early Easter holiday spending drove retail foot traffic despite higher gasoline prices.
“The mild weather across much of the nation in March encouraged retailers to promote sales of spring merchandise, providing an additional catalyst to customer traffic,” said Silvio Tavares, SVP and division manager of First Data Global Information and Analytics Solutions, which publishes SpendTrend.
In March, PIN debit surged to yearly highs in dollar volume and transaction growth. As a higher percentage of taxpayers elected to have their tax refunds electronically deposited into their bank accounts this year, it appears they made more discretionary purchases with PIN debit cards instead of credit cards.
March Dollar Volume Growth | CHANGE | |
| Credit | +5.7% | |
| Signature Debit | +8.4% | |
| PIN Debit | +14.6% | |
| Check | -2.6% | |
Note: All transactions are same-store growth. | ||
For more information on First Data SpendTrend, visit www.firstdata.com/infoanalytics or call SpendTrend Customer Care at 800-430-0169. A supplementary podcast including further analysis of the SpendTrend March 2012 report is available here.
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Around the world, every second of every day, First Data makes payment transactions secure, fast and easy for merchants, financial institutions and their customers. First Data leverages its vast product portfolio and expertise to drive customer revenue and profitability. Whether the choice of payment is by debit or credit card, gift card, check or mobile phone, online or at the checkout counter, First Data takes every opportunity to go beyond the transaction.
First Data SpendTrend, a macro-economic indicator, is based on aggregate same-store sales activity in the First Data Point of Sale Network. First Data SpendTrend does not represent First Data’s financial performance.