“The sharp decline in credit card spending challenges the popular belief that more Americans are charging basic goods in order to sustain their quality of life,” said Jim Van Dyke, president of Javelin Strategy & Research. “Consumers are making deliberate cutbacks like shopping at superstores, eating out less and watching what they charge. We believe this is because most people have already been impacted by the downturn or they’re anticipating that we haven’t seen the worst of it. It’s very cautious behavior.”
Javelin analysts also found significant cutbacks among credit card issuers. Seven out of ten issuers have reduced efforts to solicit new customers and 62% have cut back the lines of credit they make available to consumers.
“From declining consumer use, rising risk levels, and possible new merchant fee legislation, the credit card industry is taking several hits right now, which could have unintended consequences on Americans,” said Bruce Cundiff, director of payments research and consulting at Javelin Strategy & Research. “If the economy continues to decline, consumers will likely be forced to turn to credit, but find it unavailable when they need it most.”
Tomorrow I'll be writing about debt deflation and how contractions in credit intensify into a deflationary spiral. Hint: It starts when the middle class gets squeezed so hard by wage stagnation that it can't support any more debt.
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