Consumers cutting back on credit card spending

By Sarah Engle, Wed 11 Jan 2012 - Published in Credit Cards

Consumers in the UK are becoming more cautious after Santander reported that they are cutting back on credit card spending.

The bank also announced that Brits were making more purchases but the typical spend on a credit card has fallen by four per cent in the past year.

Santander reported that the amount spent in sports and toy stores saw the biggest fall in the value of money spent, dropping by 24 per cent per user, while travel agencies came second with a 13 per cent decrease.

It suggests that consumers are becoming savvier with purchases in general with customers using credit cards more frequently to make purchases as providers have upped competition with incentives and loyalty offers.

Callum Gibson, managing director at Santander Cards, said: "During times of austerity, you'd expect cutbacks to hit non-essential items like holidays and clothes. However, we've seen a drop in overall spend people are using their cards more, as demonstrated by the increase in number of transactions."

The Post Office recently said that it expected to see a rise in people using credit cards to pay for expenses such as rent and bills.

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