The 2004 holiday season exceeded expectations as retail sales charged to major credit cards, signature debit cards, and store credit cards ran more than 5% over projected levels. Debit card use soared, rising about 14% above projections. VISA reported that on Christmas Eve credit card retail sales declined 5%, while debit card retail volume surged by 24%. For the five weeks ending December 26th, overall retail payment card volume was $113.8 billion, compared to an estimated $107.7 billion for the 2004 season. Store credit cards are up less than 1% to $15.9 billion in retail volume for the holiday period, while credit cards rose a modest 4.4% to $73.6 billion.
The 2004 holiday season exceeded expectations as retail sales charged to major credit cards, signature debit cards, and store credit cards ran more than 5% over projected levels. Debit card use soared, rising about 14% above projections. VISA reported that on Christmas Eve credit card retail sales declined 5%, while debit card retail volume surged by 24%. For the five weeks ending December 26th, overall retail payment card volume was $113.8 billion, compared to an estimated $107.7 billion for the 2004 season. Store credit cards are up less than 1% to $15.9 billion in retail volume for the holiday period, while credit cards rose a modest 4.4% to $73.6 billion.