Transaction Trends

Total spending grew nearly five percent year-over-year in Q1 2018, according to ETA member and global payments technology company First Data. In their quarterly SpendTrend report, released last week, First Data reports that total spending – retail and non-retail categories included – grew 4.8 percent, with retail spending up 1.6 percent year-over-year in the first quarter.

Based on analysis of millions of transactions through March 2018, the report also found significant growth in eCommerce spending. With an 8.7 percent year-over-year increase in Q1 2018, eCommerce spending continues to gain share of total spending, according to the report. eCommerce accounted for 31 percent of total spend distribution in Q1 2018, up from 28 percent in Q4 of 2017, the report said. Brick and mortar spending also experienced solid growth, climbing 3.2 percent year-over-year and grabbing 69 percent of total spend distribution.

Non-retail categories like gasoline stations, travel and restaurants spend growth topped 5.9 percent, driven by notable gains in automated gas dispenser, travel agency, cruise lines and amusement parks spending. Quick service restaurants also saw 6.6 percent year-over-year growth in Q1 2018, the report found, driven by digital payments enablement. Causal dining, family dining and fast casual dining increased 1.2 percent, 2.0 percent and 1.5 percent respectively where upscale dining decreased 1.7 percent, bringing overall restaurant spend growth to 3.3 percent year-over-year.

Regional spending was strongest in the West and in New England, growing 4.5 percent and 3.4 percent respectively, the analysis found. Spending increased 7.4 percent year-over-year in San Francisco, making it the top city in terms of total spend in the United States.

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