News

For holidays, it's lumps of coal for credit, mobile payments

October 26, 2012

Consumers plan on making it a green Christmas by using cold cash for holiday purchases and keeping their credit cards and smart phones snug in their beds.

That's according to a study released by payment processor Litle & Co. The study also found that shoppers do not anticipate doing business on their mobile devices.

More data from the study:

• Nearly half (49 percent) of respondents own three or more credit cards
• Slightly more than half (53 percent) plan to use only available funds, not credit, to shop this holiday season. Of that number, 16 percent said they plan on using actual cash.
• One in three said credit is still preferred for purchases of more than $100.
• Nearly half of cardholders said loyalty points, miles and rewards are the main reason for choosing a credit card. That number was higher with people earning more than $150,000, with 73 percent of those respondents reporting that the rewards are a primary motivation.

"Consumers are carefully choosing between using credit or debit/cash, and it’s no wonder given the current economic climate," said Ben Saren, vice president of marketing at Litle & Co, in a statement. "They are making trade-offs between using their available funds rather than credit to defer payment but are evidently swayed by the chance to earn bonus awards and miles."

The study found little enthusiasm for mobile commerce and payments. According to the report, 60 percent of respondents own mobile devices that will support online shopping, either a tablet or smartphone, but only 25 percent actually use the devices to shop. When respondents did shop on their mobile devices, the average price per item for the majority of respondents (63 percent) was relatively modest, just $20-$100.

The study didn't provide any encouragement for fans of mobile wallets either. Fewer than one in 10 (8.6 percent) "think mobile wallets are going to change the payment world." And 71 percent said they had never used a mobile point-of-sale device like those from Square to make a purchase.

Saren also said the number of shoppers transacting via mobile devices is small, which calls into question the consumer appetite for mobile payments.

"For retailers and merchants, these research findings present important insights that should be factored into marketing and targeting plans this holiday shopping season," Saren said.

The study, commissioned by Litle & Co., was conducted by ResearchNow in September and included 500 shoppers.

For more stories like this, visit the trends/statistics research center.