Friday Halloween spurred early holiday spending

Atlanta --This year, a Halloween that fell on Friday helped boost spending growth in October, according to the monthly SpendTrend report from First Data Corp.



While the Halloween weekend helped contribute to the 3.8% spending growth, a healthy uptick from September’s growth of 3.1%, early holiday shopping also spurred the increase, according to the First Data report, which tracks same-store point-of-sale data by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks.



The First Data SpendTrend analysis looked at the period Oct. 1 through 31, 2014, compared to Oct. 2 through Nov. 1, 2013.



Spending growth for all card types (credit, PIN and SIG debit) experienced a healthy increase in October. Dollar volume growth of 5.5% on credit outperformed both SIG and PIN debit growth of 2.1% and 2.5%, respectively. The growth in credit was supported by strong showings in categories such as Hotels, where credit is the preferred spending method. The growth in PIN and SIG debit was driven by stronger spending in categories such as Food & Beverage Stores and Food Services and Drinking Places.



From a regional perspective, dollar volume growth was strong across the U.S., with the exception of the Mid-Atlantic region. The Southwest region saw spending growth of 5.4%, an impressive gain from September’s growth of 3.0%. The Midwest also enjoyed healthy spending growth at 4.7% as the pace of employment and new home sales have improved in this region.



October’s average ticket growth remained positive at 0.7%, but slipped slightly again vs. September’s growth of 1.0%. Overall average ticket in October remained moderate due to the drop in gasoline prices and retailers slashing prices ahead of the holidays.



“We’re off and running with a strong start to the holiday shopping season as this year, consumers are showing confidence in their early spending,” said Krish Mantripragada, senior VP, Information and Analytics Solutions, First Data. “This confidence, which is buoyed by a lower unemployment rate, made October, 2014 a robust spending month.”