Credit card spend down year on year

Average credit card spend has fallen four per cent over the past 12 months, according to new analysis of customer spend data by Santander Credit Cards.  The data reveals that while the total number of transactions made per regular card user has increased by one per cent over that time period, the value of transactions per card user has decreased.

The majority of the retail sector has seen decreases in the value of spend, resulting in an average reduction of 5 per cent per card user over the year.  Sports and toy spending has been worst hit, with a massive 24 per cent reduction in the value of card spend per user over this period and clothes stores with a 6 per cent decrease.

Customer card spend on holidays also has decreased, with the amount spent on travel agencies down 13 per cent year  on year, airlines down 9 per cent and hotels down 4 per cent.

By contrast, people are still spending on little luxuries like eating out - restaurants and bars have seen a 4 per cent increase in value of spend per user.  Mail order is also defying the downturn with the biggest increase in card expenditure of all, showing a 22 per cent uplift in the number of transactions per card user and an 8 per cent increase in the value of spend in this sector.

Callum Gibson, Managing Director at Santander Cards, commented: "During times of austerity, you'd expect cut-backs to hit non-essential items like holidays and clothes, and our customer data supports this. However, while we've seen a drop in overall spend people are using their cards more - as demonstrated by the increase in number of transactions. Plus with cards like Santander's 123 credit card, customers are rewarded for their spending in supermarkets, department stores and petrol stations."

Santander 123 Credit Card rewards customers by giving them cashback on essential spending, offering 1 per cent on supermarket purchases, 2 per cent on department store purchases and 3 per cent on petrol spend.