The European cost grows a 9% in the first trimester of the 2010
- The data on cost with cards more hard reveal a recovery of the consumption of the awaited one
- The levels of cost in Europe adjust to the increase of confidence of the consumer
- In Spain a growth of 6% in the cost in the points of sale has been registered
Madrid
The cost of the European consumers in the first trimester of the 2010 increased a 9% in comparison with the same period of 2009, in agreement with the Report of Tendencies of Cost in Europe realized by Europe Visa along with Markit Economics, a company specialized in business surveys and economic indices.
The report concludes that the cost realized with cards Visa of debit, credit and pre-payment in all the continent grew until reaching the 230,000 million Euros, in comparison with the first trimester of the 2009 in which the European spent 198,000 million Euros with their cards Visa. This impelled the annual rate of growth until 16.4% from quarterly 11.7% registered in the last of the 2009. After considering the increase of the number of emitted cards Visa, the data show a inter-annual growth of 9% in the nominal cost. Therefore, the cost with cards Visa is growing to a rate faster than the registered one before the recession when, at the end of 2007, it reached 5.8%.
And although the volumes of cost have recovered, the average cost by transaction still must return to reach the levels registered between 2005 and 2008. During this period, the average value of a transaction with card was placed between 51 and 53 Euros, whereas this number descended until the 48.8 Euros in the third trimester of 2009 and at the moment it reaches the 49 Euros. This evolution must to the cut in the cost of the consumers as well as to the slope of the prices in the commerce, but also it is possible to be attributed to the increasing number of people that already uses its cards for purchases of low amount. This last fact is based on the continuous annual growth of the average of transactions by card.
The greater use of the card in the last decade means that a 11.2% of cost of the consumer in the point of sale in Europe carry out with a card Visa, and more of a 70% of that percentage Visa is pleased with debit cards. This means that the data on the use of cards can be an indicating faithful of the tendencies of cost of the consumers.
In Spain a growth of 6% in the cost in the points of sale, a key parameter has been registered, because it indicates the card use in the stores. The same percentage of growth in the volume of transactions has been registered, after seven consecutive trimesters of fall.
The report, that at the moment is based on an analysis of the transactions realized with the 399 million cards Visa in circulation in Europe, found a direct correlation between the Visa data and the numbers of the European Commission on the confidence of the consumers. These data of the European Commission reveal that the confidence of the consumer with respect to the present economic situation has increased in this first trimester of 2010 until numbers nonseen for two years, after to have touched bottom in the first trimester of the 2009 (as they pointed the Visa data).
The Visa initial datas in the months of April and May suggest them positive tendencies in the cost with cards will follow that tendency in the second trimester of the 2010. Historically, these data and conclusions offered by Visa have gone ahead in their predictions to the official numbers of sales in commerce. This was seen clearly in 2008 and 2009, when the data noticed a sudden change from a strong growth in the cost to a diminution of the same. For this reason, the good numbers of Visa in April could be a good augury for the continuity of the recovery of the consumers in the second trimester of the 2010.
Steve Perry, Director Commercial Europe Visa comments: “The recession struck hard at the level of cost of the consumers, but the recovery has been surprising fast. The growth is now more express than it was before the recession. This is very positive for the health of the European economy as a whole, to the being the cost of the consumer a motor of so important growth�.
“It is necessary to moderate the optimism. The economic situation of Greece and the preoccupations on the fiscal position of some European states show that the perspective are uncertain and is to see if the cost will continue growing the present rate�.
“During the last decade an enormous growth in the use of cards in all Europe has been seen, and more than one of each nine spent Euros Visa is pleased with a card. The debit cards are especially becoming the method of payment preferred for many consumers and is replacing to the cash and checks. This means that the cost with card more and more provides a rigorous indicator of the total of cost of the consumers and can offer a very trustworthy prediction before they occur to know the numbers official�.
Chris Williamson, Economist Head of Markit comments: “The growth of the cost with cards Visa provides a useful perspective on the changing tendencies in the cost of the consumers, and the data of the first trimester paint an optimistic and encouraging picture surprising. This force will at least partly reflect the tendency towards the increasing use of cards instead of the cash in many countries, and, once the inflation considers, the real growth of the cost of the consumers could be more modest. However, these factors cannot justify all the growth observed in the first trimester of the year and the data suggest, therefore, that the recovery in Europe shows signs to extend itself from the enterprise sector to the families�.
“The preliminary Visa data corresponding to the last months corroborate other numbers of the study to suggest it recovery will continue in the second trimester, and that is perhaps even accelerated. However, also we must remember that this change in the cost that has taken place during the last year has counted with the support of packages of stimulus of the governments without precedents. That this tendency can stay during second half of 2010 will depend on the strength that can have the economic growth in front of unfavorable winds caused by the crisis of the debt, the development of the packages of stimulus and the measures of austerity required to reduce the national debt�.
In order to accede to the complete report of Tendencies of Cost in Europe made by Visa it punctures here: http://www.visaeurope.com/en/making_money_flow.aspx?utm_source=Press_release&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=spending_index_PR
 
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