Transaction Trends

A recent analysis of electronic payments data from ETA member and international payments processor First Data has found that transaction volume grew at a higher rate than average ticket size through the third quarter (Q3) of 2018. The total number of transactions for electronic payments grew 3.8 percent year-over-year (YoY) in Q3, almost four times that of average ticket growth over the same period.

First Data’s quarterly SpendTrend report, which analyzes and breakdowns transaction data in the United States from First Data’s systems, found another strong quarter for electronic payments stateside. Total spending grew 4.9 percent YoY, slightly outpacing Q2 2018 growth. Retail spending set a new high in Q3 2018 with a 3.1 percent YoY, the report found, easily beating Q2’s 2.2 percent growth and Q1’s 1.6 percent growth.

Spending via electronic payments at gasoline stations, travel-related merchants, and electronics and appliances stores experienced particularly accelerated growth, increasing 15.3 percent, 8.3 percent and 6.7 percent respectively. Quick-service restaurants also reported impressive growth, according to First Data, at 7.9 percent YoY last quarter. Overall restaurant spending via electronic payments grew 4.7 percent YoY.

Brick-and-mortar spending continued its “pattern of consistent acceleration” over the last five quarters, the analysis found, reporting a 4.5 percent YoY increase. Conversely, though eCommerce spending slowed for the second quarter consecutively, it still outpaced brick-and-mortar growth at 5.7 percent. The distribution of total spending via electronic payments skews towards brick-and-mortar for both retail and non-retail merchants. As a portion of total spending at retail merchants, eCommerce has captured 28 percent every quarter this year. In non-retail, the report notes, eCommerce contributes a growing, slightly higher share at 33 percent in Q3 2018.

Click here to read the full report.