Home News 2004 December Final Tally

Final Tally Wed, Dec 29, 2004

AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Thomas Redman, CardTrak.com

The 2004 holiday season exceeded expectations as retail sales charged to major credit cards, signature debit cards, and store credit cards ran more than 5% over projected levels. Debit card use soared, rising about 14% above projections. VISA reported that on Christmas Eve credit card retail sales declined 5%, while debit card retail volume surged by 24%. For the five weeks ending December 26th, overall retail payment card volume was $113.8 billion, compared to an estimated $107.7 billion for the 2004 season. Store credit cards are up less than 1% to $15.9 billion in retail volume for the holiday period, while credit cards rose a modest 4.4% to $73.6 billion.

Holiday Card Volume
(five weeks ending 12/26)
Actual ProjectedDifference
Credit:$73.6 billion$70.5 billion+ 4.4%
Debit:$24.2 billion$21.3 billion+13.6%
Store:$16.0 billion$15.9 billion+ 0.6%
TOTAL$113.8 billion$107.7 billion+ 5.7%
Source: CardData (www.carddata.com)
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