Six out of ten Americans said they used their credit cards less this holiday season compared to last year, while 16% indicated they used credit cards more. The pull-back in holiday credit card use is reflected in the puny growth of retail sales, verifying the continued malaise of the U.S. economy. According to a CardWeb.com homepage poll of nearly 1,000 consumers, only 22% of consumers kept their credit card usage the same as last year. The one bright spot in this year’s holiday spending and credit card usage is online retail sales. Since November 1st, online shoppers have spent between $8 billion and $11 billion. According to com-Score Networks, online sales are up 19% this year. BizRate says online sales have climbed 40%. Meanwhile overall holiday sales are only expected to be 1% to 2% higher this year. Credit card volume has been growing between 13% and 14% this year, driven somewhat by strong balance transfer activity.
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