Consumers Using Credit Cards For Smaller Transactions

Credit cards and debit cards are still the preferred methods for countless consumers, but the Bank of America June 2016 Consumer Spending Snaphot shows they are using their cards increasingly for small payments. That is resulting in the average purchase amount per active account decreasing or staying flat in June.

Bank of America, which looked at the transaction and spending data of its more than 40 million active credit and debit card customers to gauge their spending behaviors in June, found that mobile wallet transactions increased 230 percent year over year, but the average mobile wallet purchase decreased 12 percent compared to last year. Online transactions increased 25 percent in June compared to the same period a year ago, while the average online purchase amount declined 9 percent. Point-of-sale transactions didn’t see any growth, nor did the average point-of-sale purchase amount. The bank found point of sale remains the leading way customers transact and represents 85 percent of all purchases in June.

When it comes to key spending categories, Bank of America found the amount consumers are spending on airline tickets remained flat with last year, even though the number of airline transactions increased 7 percent year over year. Airline travelers also saw the transactions cost decline, with it dropping 6 percent from last year. While theaters saw an increase in spending last year, the same isn’t happening this year, with Bank of America finding that the spend on theaters by its customers declined 9 percent from last year’s June, while movie theater transactions per active account declined 9 percent as well.

While grocery stores are still the main place Bank of America customers are purchasing food, the bank found wholesale stores, like BJ’s and Costco, are getting an increasing piece of the pie. In June, wholesale stores represented 15 percent of the total money spent on grocery purchases, up from 1 percent in May. Consumers spend, on average, $106 at wholesale clubs, $41 at high-end grocery stores and $39 at the mass-market supermarkets for food.