Increased credit card usage reveals consumer thirst for cashback

With a reported 60 per cent increase in credit card usage during the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, card customers are cashing in with the cashback deals now available to them. According to the Santander Spend Report, which analyses millions of UK customer card transactions, the total value of transactions made by the average card user during that time has also increased by 37 per cent.
 
Santander's Credit Card data reveals that savvy customers are making the most of the benefits offered by its 1|2|3 card with some of the biggest spend increases on credit cards in the retail sector, with petrol stations seeing a 63 per cent increase in the number of transactions by the average card user and a 64 per cent increase in the value of expenditure. Supermarkets have also benefitted from a 99 per cent increase in the value of card transactions per card user, and department stores have seen a 43 per cent increase.
 
The data is indicative of how consumers are looking to get more for their money from cashback deals and special offers to alleviate the impact of their squeezed finances. Over 900,000 credit card customers are now making better use of the Santander 1|2|3 credit card, taking advantage of the card's 1 per cent cashback on supermarket purchases, 2 per cent on department store purchases and 3 per cent cashback on petrol spend.
 
In contrast, customer card spend on holidays decreased, with the amount spent on travel agencies down 8 per cent and airlines down 7 per cent.
 
Card customers have increased their use of plastic for smaller luxuries however, with a 23 per cent increase in the average number of transactions made in clothes stores, resulting in a 15 per cent increase in spend. Customers have also increased the number of purchases made in bars and restaurants by 47 per cent, leading to a 39 per cent rise in the amount of money spent per user.
 
Alan Mathewson, CEO Santander Cards, commented: "We have seen much more activity from our card customers in the first quarter of this year compared with last. We believe that while consumers are generally using their cards more, the biggest increases are driven by customers being much more savvy about being rewarded for their expenditure.
 
"Some of the biggest increases in both number and value of transactions were in petrol stations, supermarkets and department stores, which suggests that customers are specifically taking advantage of cashback rewards on offer through our 1|2|3 cashback credit card."