RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.—The strong holiday shopping season gave a boost to card spending in December, Co-op Solutions is reporting.
According to the company, overall credit and debit spending was up for the month by 6.2% and 6.3%, respectively, last month.
Co-op said its credit union client portfolios reported strong monthly spending growth across most major retail categories, including Amazon/Bookstores, Computers, Department Stores, Discount Stores and Sport/Recreation. Expected seasonal declines were seen in categories including Campers/Camping, Education and Golf Courses, the CUSO said.
Among the key spending trends, according to Co-op”
Amazon on the Rise
“Since kicking off the holiday shopping season with a special Prime Day in October, Amazon has been showing consistent growth,” Co-op said.
According to the company, it experienced record-breaking sales numbers over the critical five-day period that began on Thanksgiving Day and ended on Cyber Monday, setting a torrid pace that continued right through December, Co-op said.
Within its client payment portfolios, Co-op said the Amazon category recorded big month-over-month lifts in transaction volume of 38% in both credit and debit. And year over year, Amazon spending was up 13.8% in credit transaction volume and 9.1% in debit, remarkable considering the strength of eCommerce during the depths of the pandemic in 2021.
“Amazon’s strong results came despite many shoppers being frustrated with widespread delivery delays late in the season,” said Beth Phillips, director, Co-op Solutions. “December’s severe storms impacted the delivery of many last-minute gift purchases.”
Grocery Spending Remains Flat
Coming off surprising declines in November, Co-op reported Grocery spending showed only modest month-over-month growth in transaction volume, increasing by 6.5% in credit and 5.7% in debit.
“Transaction amounts were up significantly, however, reflecting the impact of inflation and larger purchases made per trip to the store due to the increase in entertaining at home in December,” Co-op said.
It added that year over year, Grocery remained flat in debit, but grew by 37.3% in credit.
“Grocery purchasing was delayed this holiday season as consumers made plans later in the season,” said John Patton, Co-op senior payments advisor. “Additionally, consumers were also dealing with the triple threat of illnesses that, in many cases, caused their holiday celebrations and plans to be delayed or rescheduled, and that affected what we normally expect to see in this category at this time of the year.”
Medical and Self-Care Show Healthy Increases
Although much of the focus at the end of year is on retail spending, medical expenditures also grew significantly, with increases of more than 11% in both credit and debit, Co-op noted.
“Once the cold weather hits and people head indoors, spending on healthcare purchases like pharmaceuticals, medical office visits and clinical services all start to rise,” said Patton. “This season, the public is dealing with a particularly challenging ‘triple-demic’ of respiratory illness, resulting in an above average number of hospital and doctor visits.”
The Self-care category, which includes spending on feel-good services like spas, haircare and wellness items, also saw growth in December.
Month-Over-Month Category-Level Spending (Comparing December 2022 to November 2022)
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