It’s a Charge to Charge According to Nerdwallet’s 2017 American Household Credit Card Debt Study, total US credit card debt at the end of 2017 was $931 billion, a 7% increase from 2016. The average household had a debt balance of $15,983 and those with revolving credit card debt were paying $904 in annual interest. Although Nerdwallet calculates 37% of Americans are using a credit card to pay medical bills, the largest percentage, 41%, said they had credit card debt because they were spending more than they could afford for unnecessary purchases.

A Four-Way Race for Credit Card Dominance According to research from Trefis, total US credit card purchases were $846 billion during Q1 2018, compared to $769 billion during Q1 2017 and $902 billion during Q4 2017, when consumers are spending more for the holidays. Trefis forecasts that American Express could become the second largest processor of credit card purchases, as it was just three-tenths of a percentage point behind Mastercard during Q1 2018. Visa continues to dominate the four primary credit card processors with a market share of 52.7% during Q1 2018, compared to Mastercard’s distant second, with a 21.9% market share.

The Delicate Balance of Spending and Saving According to an April 2018 Gallup survey, 59% of those Americans responding said they were the type of person who enjoyed saving money, compared to 40% who said they enjoyed spending money. During 2001, these percentages were 48% saving money and 45% spending money, and then reached their widest gap during 2016, with 65% spending money and 33% saving money.   Of all the Gallup survey respondents, 35% said they were spending less money and 35% spending the same amount of money while 30% said they were spending more.

Card Types and Consumer Perceptions According to a May 2017 Experian report, there were 459 million credit cards in circulation in the US – and, no doubt, increasing, regularly. Those who used credit cards had almost 4 of them and 45% of card holders pay their balance every month. Of those participating in the survey, 41% had a retail/store-specific card; other type of rewards card, 39%; secured card, 32%; balance transfer card, 18%; airline-specific card, 16%; business/corporate card, 13%; and student card, 3%. The largest percentage, or 68%, of consumers said they used their credit card to purchase what they need; followed by 42%, to earn reward points; 37%, a cushion for emergencies; 32%, improve or build credit worthiness; and 32%, increase credit limit.

Cardholders’ Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction According to the J.D. Power 2017 Credit Card Satisfaction StudySM, the customer satisfaction score of 802 (on a 1,000-point scale) was the highest since the first study and customers are most satisfied when their cards have a cash-back rewards program. Customers are also more satisfied when they utilize card issuers’ Websites and mobile apps/channels, at 807 for Website only, 827 for mobile only and 834 when a combination. The satisfaction score for those who do not use either was 780. A Q3 2017 Fiserv survey found an increasingly positive perception of chip cards, as 36% of survey respondents preferred them, compared to 27% during 2016.

Many US Consumers Still Pay with Cash According to a Q2 2017 survey from YouGuv of consumers in 7 countries, 72% of Americans said they used cash when making purchases in-store. The percentages were greater in Germany, the UK, China and Indonesia. In terms of daily use of cash, the US was fifth, at 19%, with Indonesia, 80%; China, 34%; Germany, 33%; and the UK, 26%. Just 6% of survey respondents in Sweden and 7% in Denmark use cash every day. A 2017 IHL Group study concluded that US and Canadian retailers spent a total of $96 billion to handle cash during 2017. Automating some of the process could allow them to allocate 100 to more than 500 labor hours/month for higher-value tasks.

Advertising Strategies Local retailers may want to consider promoting a “Cashless Weekend,” by offering a special discount or a coupon for a future purchase when making a qualifying purchase. The information in the Profiler from IHL Group about the costs retailers incur to handle cash may be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your interest in helping your prospects and clients save time and money and prove you are more than just another media rep. Local retailers who accept ApplePay and similar payment services could station an employee or outside specialist near the checkout lanes to show consumers how to load their credit cards into their mobile wallets, which should make transactions faster.

New Media Strategies Ask customers (and reward them) for posting short videos on your store’s Website and social media pages with tips about how they use their credit cards responsibly and the benefits of paying their balances every month. Similarly, you could create a page on your Website for these videos and include curated online articles from personal finance experts with additional tips and guidance for better credit card use. Conduct regular polls/surveys of customers about the credit cards they own, why they chose those cards, how and where they use them, etc.