A monthly survey conducted by card processing giant First Data Corp. reported consumer spending uniformly up in March even though Easter came later this year and gasoline prices began rising.
The card processor’s SpendTrend survey reported that card transactions grew in both numbers and volume across credit cards, debit cards validated with personal identification numbers and debit cards validated with signatures.
The company reported credit card transactions grew by 3.4% and dollar volume by 7.8%. Signature debit transactions grew by 9.7% and by dollar volume by 10.2%. PIN debit transactions increased by 5.4% and dollar volume by 6.6%. The only category of payments to lose ground in March were checks. Check transactions dropped by 15.4% and dollar volume by 12.3%.
“Despite difficult comparable [statistics], a later Easter holiday, and soaring gas prices, March proved to be a steady month for overall consumer spending,” said Silvio Tavares, division manager of First Data Information and Analytics Solutions.