Over £11bn spent on plastic cards in DIY stores

Figures released by APACS, the UK's payments association, ahead of national DIY week (22 - 29 September), reveal that £11.87 billion was spent in DIY stores on credit and debit cards between August 2007 and July 2008. This amount was spent in nearly 229 million transactions, averaging over 4.4 million transactions a week, with an average spend of £51.87.

Debit cards were the most popular plastic card to use in DIY stores in terms of values and volumes, accounting for an expenditure of £6.57 billion and 152.4 million transactions, with credit cards constituting a £5.3 billion spend and 76.5 million transactions. However, the average spend on a debit card was only £43.09 compared to £69.36 on a credit card.

The highest month of the year for plastic card spending was May. More than £1.15 billion was spent in DIY stores on over 22.8 million transactions.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS comments: "Plastic cards are one of the most popular forms of payment in the UK and the last decade has seen a rapid rise in their popularity, with consumers enjoying the ease and convenience debit and credit cards bring.

"It appears that DIY enthusiasts are no exception and use their plastic for those essential purchases in specialist stores - particularly in the month of May this year making the most of the good weather to carry out those home improvements."