Visa USA Details Holiday Spending

Visa USA has reported on the growth in US spending on Visa credit and debit cards over this holiday season.

Visa spending in the retail segment(1) topped $43.2 billion during the four weeks preceding December 28, a 10.3 percent increase over the same period of 2002. Visa debit cards (which include check cards and prepaid cards) showed the strongest year over year increase, growing 16.7 percent to $16.1 billion. None-the-less, the bulk of Visa spending on retail this holiday season was charged to credit cards for a total of $27.1 billion.

The first day of the traditional holiday season, Black Friday (November 28), was Visa's biggest retail day, with nearly $2 billion spent at retailers. However, December 20 sales came in a close second, accounting for over $1.9 billion in retail spending.

This holiday season, the highest grossing retail sectors for Visa cards have been Department Stores, Apparel, and Mail and Phone Order sales, for a total of over $10 billion from November 28 to December 28. Spending in the Specialty Retail and Hobby category grew the most among retail sectors, with dollar volume increasing 13.5 percent from 2002.