RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – Credit and debit cardholders appear to be spending more on their holiday shopping this year as compared to last, according to CO-OP Financial Services’ analysis of card transaction data from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.
Among the key takeaways, CO-OP’s data indicates credit union cardholders shop more – and spend more – when they do so in a digital environment.
The average amount of money spent per cardholder was up this year, and in some cases, significantly. Credit cardholders spent an average of $323 over the five-day period, up more than 10% (+10.6%) over last year’s average of $292. For their part, debit cardholders spent an average of $264 from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. That’s an increase of nearly 17% (+16.8%) over the same period in 2018. CO-OP’s data shows analyst predictions for 2019 holiday shoppingincreases as high as 19.7% were fairly on target.
‘Particularly Important’
Data-driven payment strategy is particularly important for credit unions looking to capture and retain the business of online shoppers. CO-OP’s data shows cardholders tend to spend more per transaction when shopping online. In 2019, the average electronic transaction made with a credit card was $101.19. In-person credit transactions, on the other hand, averaged $83.46. Debit displayed similar differences with electronic transaction averages at $64.79 and in-person averages at $43.37.
Credit union cardholders continued to rely on digital channels to check off their holiday shopping lists. This year, 27.9% of credit card transactions processed by CO-OP came from electronic environments, compared to 27.5% in 2018. Debit transactions that came from electronic environments decreased, but only slightly, from 16.6% in 2018 to 15.7% this year. By day, the percentage of transactions processed in electronic environments was much larger on Cyber Monday. ShopperTrak reported that the number of consumers who actually entered a brick-and-mortar store was down 6.2% on Black Friday this year.
‘Rich Insights’
“Running frequent analytics on CO-OP’s transaction data gives our team rich insights that allow us to advise credit unions on highly effective and member-centric payment strategies,” said Todd Clark, president/CEO of CO-OP. “Because credit unions are driven by what’s best for their members, this level of intelligence is incredibly valuable.”
CO-OP’s 2019 holiday shopping data insights match a Business Insider report revealing nearly 60% of consumers prefer to shop during online retail events, like Cyber Monday. That may be due in part to the growing BOPIS trend (buy online, pickup in store), which grew a whopping 40.9% over 2018, according to Adobe Analytics.
Black Friday was the biggest shopping day across both card types in terms of total spend. Small Business Saturday was the runner-up.
‘Notable Differences’
As for the winners and losers among merchant categories, there were several notable differences among retailers. Credit union credit cardholders spent quite a bit less on clothing and appliances this year as compared to last. Clothing store transactions were down (-4.60%)%; appliances down more than 20% (-22.06%). Car rental and travel were down considerably, as well, at more than 20% (-20.67%) and 15% (-15.76%), respectively. Interior furnishings and recreation (i.e., movie theaters, bowling alleys), on the other hand, increased sales significantly at nearly 10% (+9.9%) and 17% (+16.72%), CO-OP said.