May 09, 2012 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
April Sales Impacted by Tough Easter Comp, Earlier Start to Spring Spending Season
ATLANTA--()--First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today released its First Data SpendTrend® analysis for the full month of April 2012 compared to April 2011. SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations.
“April’s card spending was impacted by an earlier Easter, plus the unseasonably warm weather in February and March, which pulled forward seasonal demand”
Overall year-over-year dollar volume growth was 5.7% in April, down from March’s 8.7% growth. Transaction growth slowed to 5.8% in April, down from 9.3% in March. Despite the slowdown in overall year-over-year dollar volume and transaction growth, discretionary spending was healthy in April.
“April’s card spending was impacted by an earlier Easter, plus the unseasonably warm weather in February and March, which pulled forward seasonal demand,” said Silvio Tavares, SVP and division manager of First Data Global Information and Analytics Solutions, which publishes SpendTrend.
PIN debit remained the leading payment type among consumers, although its upward growth trend moderated in April. PIN debit dollar volume growth was up 7.4% in April, while PIN debit transaction growth increased 7.5%.
April Dollar Volume Growth
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CHANGE
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Credit
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+5.8%
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Signature Debit
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+3.9%
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PIN Debit
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+7.4%
|
Check
|
-6.7%
|
Note: All transactions are same-store growth.
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For more information on First Data SpendTrend, visit www.firstdata.com/infoanalytics or call SpendTrend Customer Care at 800-430-0169. A supplementary podcast including further analysis of the SpendTrend April 2012 report is available here.
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Around the world, every second of every day, First Data makes payment transactions secure, fast and easy for merchants, financial institutions and their customers. First Data leverages its vast product portfolio and expertise to drive customer revenue and profitability. Whether the choice of payment is by debit or credit card, gift card, check or mobile phone, online or at the checkout counter, First Data takes every opportunity to go beyond the transaction.
First Data SpendTrend, a macro-economic indicator, is based on aggregate same-store sales activity in the First Data Point of Sale Network. First Data SpendTrend does not represent First Data’s financial performance.
