By Charlotte
Beugge
Average
credit card spending last year was down 4% in 2011, according to Santander
Credit Cards. Its research found that while the number of transactions regular
cardholders make has increased marginally by 1%, the value of transactions is
down.
Understandably,
given the current economic climate, credit card spending on many luxury items
declined. Over 2011, spending on cards in travel agencies was down 13% and on
airlines it was down 9%.
However,
by far the biggest fall in credit card spending was in sports and toy shops
where it declined a massive 24%. Department store spending was down 11%.
Retailers
and services which saw spending rise last year included mail order, where
spending was up 8% and restaurants and bars, which saw a 4% rise. With mail
order spending, the number of transactions was up 22%.
Callum
Gibson, managing director at Santander Cards, says: "During times of
austerity, you'd expect cut-backs to hit non-essential items like holidays and
clothes, and our customer data supports this."
Santander's
123 Credit Card gives cashback at different rates depending on where the
card is used: it's 1% in supermarkets, 2% in department stores and 3% in petrol
stations.
The card
has a £24 a year fee and the interest rate is 18.9%. American
Express has a 2.5% cashback on all spending in the first three months and
an annual fee of £25 and an interest rate of 14%.
