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TMG: Digital payment booms over Thanksgiving weekend

The Members Group has seen a steady rise in card-not-present transactions as a portion of purchases over the holiday weekend — from 15 percent in 2013 to 25 percent in 2015.

December 8, 2015

Analysis of payment card transaction data from payments processor The Members Group shows that cardholders are increasingly relying on digital devices for their holiday shopping.

According to a press release, card-not-present sales accounted for nearly a quarter of holiday weekend (Black Friday through Cyber Monday) credit and debit card transactions processed by TMG, up from 20 percent in 2014 and from 15 percent in 2013.

For the first time, TMG included both EMV and tokenized transactions in its holiday spending analysis, setting a benchmark for these new technologies, the CUSO said.

Among observations by product and digital teams at TMG:

• EMV transactions accounted for 26 percent of all card transactions processed by TMG over the holiday shopping weekend;
• Cyber Monday was the most popular day for tokenized credit transactions; Black Friday for tokenized debit transactions, mostly via Apple Pay;
• tokenized debit transactions accounted for 58 percent of total tokenized credit and debit transactions during the holiday weekend;
• average tokenized debit and credit transactions were $25.80 and $45.53, respectively;
• of cardholders who made at least one tokenized transaction over the holiday weekend, 31 percent were in their 30s; and
• most tokenized transactions by TMG clients occurred at: Trader Joe’s; Whole Foods; Starbucks; Groupon; McDonald’s; Sprout’s Farmers Market; Walgreens; Panera Bread; and Uber.