Even the most minor change to the economy can affect the way people spend money. When the economy suffers problems, retail sales drop, but sales can increase again when unemployment rates and the number of available jobs increase. MasterCard keeps track of the retail industry and frequently releases its data; the company's recent figures indicate an increase in sales in the United States.
When you work in retail, you know that many shoppers make purchases with a MasterCard or another credit card. Shoppers can now earn air miles and cash back whenever they buy something and pay with credit. Credit cards also let shoppers make major purchases without carrying large sums of cash and allow them to pay off those purchases in installments. Among other things, MasterCard found that retail sales increased by more than 2 percent in 2012, and overall spending increased by more than 4 percent in May 2013 alone.
MasterCard launched its SpendingPulse system as a way to alert businesses as to how much customers are spending on average. The SpendingPulse report shows businesses' increase or decrease in retail sales from one month to the next, letting retailers know how healthy the retail industry is at any given time. Many credit the increased spending to the rising number of jobs and the resurgence of the automobile industry in the United States. As factories across the country open their doors and hire more employees in different cities, those workers suddenly have more cash to spend on purchases. Many retail businesses notice a change in the economy when companies need to hire more employees to meet the increased demand.
According to the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, MasterCard might face some issues when it comes to reporting retail sales. Amazon.com and 7-Eleven filed suit against MasterCard and Visa, and at least thirty other businesses have joined the legal battle. These businesses claim that the credit card companies violated antitrust agreements because of the high fees they charge retailers. When you process a credit card payment in your store, a portion of the money goes to the credit card company. Walmart dropped out of the lawsuit, but Visa sued the company, stating that Walmart would file its own suit against the credit card companies. The lawsuit calls for MasterCard and Visa to pay more than $7 billion in restitution to stores that used those credit-processing services.
MasterCard gives shop owners and retail workers the chance to record and keep track of retail sales with its SpendingPulse reporting system. The system tracks data in the United States and other countries, and MasterCard publishes those reports every month and at the end of the year. Though the report indicates that retail sales are up, more people will likely spend the year discussing the legal battle surrounding the fee MasterCard charges for processing payments.
(Photo courtesy of stockimages / freedigitalphotos.net)
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