E-Commerce Slow In Summer, But Rising Overall

Good research is oftentimes all about the data, and MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse certainly has good data. The research arm of MasterCard’s worldwide operations uses spending data from across the entire MasterCard network to identify shifts in consumer preferences and monitor current economic activity against key benchmarks.

We asked Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, to walk us through some of the changes we should expect right about now “” that is, as temperatures rise and summer truly takes hold across the U.S.

McNamara explains how an increased tourism and vacation season leads to a spending lift for some categories, but also causes one unexpected slowdown in particular: as shoppers leave their desks behind to enjoy the great outdoors, e-commerce as a share of total overall spend falls significantly.