Holiday shoppers still are swiping plastic at the cash register, but more people are using debit cards instead of credit cards, according to card processor First Data Corp.
The Atlanta-based company, whose largest operations center is in Omaha, said Black Friday purchases showed a 9 percent increase over last year in the number of debit card transactions, compared with a 6 percent increase in the use of credit cards.
Those numbers support experts’ predictions that although credit card use typically increases during the holidays, consumers this year are more likely to pay with cash or debit cards in order to control spending and debt.
Debit card purchases come right out of a checking account, so people can see how much they’re spending.
Silvio Tavares, a First Data senior vice president who analyzes spending trends, said the number of transactions processed during the Black Friday weekend indicate consumers are willing to spend.
In the Midwest, which encompasses 11 states, including Nebraska and Iowa, spending is up 7 percent. Transactions are up 10 percent over last year, he said.
First Data doesn’t release specific numbers, Tavares said.
“The story here is that we’re actually off to a decent start for the holiday season,” he said.
However, he cautioned that a strong Black Friday is no guarantee that sales for the entire holiday season will show year-over-year growth.
Nebraska-based credit card issuers First National Bank and Cabela’s declined to comment specifically on spending trends.
Stephen Eulie, president of First National Credit Card Center, said cardholders, in general, were spending less in retail and “other discretionary sectors.”
Cabela’s doesn’t comment publicly on snapshot spending trends within its credit card division, said company spokesman John Castillo.
PayPal, which processes payments for online purchases and employs about 2,000 in the Omaha area, said in a press release that sales volume on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, was up 20 percent over 2008.
Thanksgiving Day sales were 25 percent greater than last year, the company said.
Transactions made on smart phones increased 190 percent on Cyber Monday and 140 percent on Black Friday, PayPal said. It did not release specific transaction numbers.
According to a daily tracking poll from Gallup, the Midwest so far is the only region to post an increase in holiday spending. Daily spending since Thanksgiving is up an average of $6 per customer, to $91, compared with 2008, Gallup said.
Nationally, spending was down 15 percent during the first week of the holiday shopping season compared with last year, according to Gallup, which interviewed 2,866 adults.
Women between the ages of 18 and 39 spent the most, although less than last year. On average, that demographic spent $108 per day from Nov. 27 through Dec. 3. Men in the same age bracket spent $79 apiece on average.
Last year, young men ages 18 through 39 spent the most, $167, Gallup said.
Tavares said First Data is cautiously optimistic for the final weeks leading up to Christmas.
“There is reason to remain cautious,” he said. “Our analysis suggests consumers remain very value conscious.”
Contact the writer:
444-1414, ross.boettcher@owh.com
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