Moneris Solutions' Quarterly Report Reveals Canadian Retail Bright Spots With Hardware Stores and Contractors Driving Growth During Winter 2010

Merchants Boldly Bounce Back From a Slow Year and Find New Ways to Bring in Shoppers



TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 28, 2010) - Quarterly spending results released today by Moneris Solutions, Canada's largest debit and credit card processor, reveal that hardware stores, contractors and home furnishing stores were the big winners during the first three months of 2010, particularly leading up to the federal government's deadline for receiving the Home Renovation Tax Credit. Moneris Solutions' quarterly outlook examined national consumer spending for January, February and March 2010 and compared it to the same period last year. 

"The first quarter of 2010 was very positive, with many retailers seeing an increase in consumer spending coinciding with government incentives and favourable weather," said David Ades, Senior Vice President, Moneris Solutions. "Businesses were ready to bounce back from the recession and consumers clearly were ready to spend again. As we head into the second quarter, merchants are continuing to find ways to entice customers into their stores, including tempting advertising, innovative holiday promotions, and processing credit and debit card transactions quickly and efficiently."

Traditionally, January is the slowest spending month for sales as consumers curb their December shopping sprees. But in January 2010, retail spending jumped 6% compared to the previous year, with hardware stores and contractor services proving the most lucrative during the quarter leading up to the Home Renovation Tax Credit's February 1^st deadline. In January 2010 alone, hardware stores saw a 29% increase in transactions while contractors saw their business jump by 20% compared to the same month last year.

Canadians spent 16% more during the February 12-16, 2010 weekend compared to Family Day Weekend 2009. The increase shows that business owners were ready to meet the needs of consumers during the converging holidays of Family Day, Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day in February 2010.

Hardware stores and contractors continued to capitalize on consumers' willingness to spend on home improvements throughout the quarter, achieving 12% and 13% spending increases, respectively, in March 2010 compared to March 2009. Interestingly, home furnishing stores increased transactions by 21% in March 2010.

Spending also adjusted to the weather, with hardware stores and contractors remaining busy during milder temperatures and consumers handing bicycle shops their business to ready themselves for spring.

Other highlights of the Moneris Solutions quarterly report include:

• Warmer weather in some parts of Canada had consumers thinking about outdoor activities earlier this year, with bicycles shops processing 36% more transactions in March 2010 than they did during the colder March days last year.

• The Maritimes saw the greatest quarter-over-quarter increase. Prince Edward Island led the way with a 19% increase in spending and a 5% increase in the number of transactions year over year.

Moneris' Q1 2010 spending data compared national retail sales during January 1 – March 31, 2010 with the same period the previous year. The data covers all merchant categories (excluding gas merchants since gas volumes fluctuate according to gas prices) and tallies the dollar value as well as the number of transactions made on Moneris debit and credit card terminals across the country.

About Moneris Solutions

As one of North America's largest providers of payment processing solutions, Moneris offers credit, debit, wireless and online payment services for merchants in virtually every industry segment and processes more than three billion transactions annually. Through its Ernex division, Moneris offers electronic loyalty and stored-value gift card programs. With more than 350,000 merchant locations, Moneris provides the hardware, software and systems needed to improve business efficiency and manage payments. For more information please visitwww.moneris.com.