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.

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.

Listen to the full audio interview with Michael McNamara here.

Michael McNamara

Global Solutions Leader

Mike McNamara leads MasterCard SpendingPulse, a retail sales data service offered by MasterCard Advisors which leverages MasterCard’s vast data resources to provide Issuers with information to help quantify consumer spending opportunities, identify where and when spending occurs throughout the course of the year. The Capital Markets and Merchant marketplaces also benefit from SpendingPulse research.

Mike and SpendingPulse data are frequently quoted in the media by outlets including: Reuters, Dow Jones, Associated Press, CNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC News. During the 2009 holiday season Mike and SpendingPulse information were quoted in thousands of print publications and broadcast outlets.

Prior to joining MasterCard, Mike was a managing analyst with Datamonitor Plc, a leading global market research organization headquartered in London. While at Datamonitor, he managed the North American region of the financial service technology division. Before joining Datamonitor, Mike was a small cap equity analyst with Royce Ebright & Associates, a member of the Royce family of mutual funds.

Mike holds a BA in Economics from Fairfield University and an MBA from the F.W. Olin School of Business at Babson College.