Interestingly, according to a recent survey of 1,000 people, 39 percent of holiday shoppers will pay for their gifts in cash, 32 percent will pay with a debit card, and only 22 percent will pay by credit card. Three percent will pay by check.
Take a look at this Wall Street Journal video to learn more.
I was surprised to see how many people pay with cash or debit cards. I was expecting the majority of shoppers to put the purchases on their credit card and pay if off at a later time. It’s definitely good to see that people are paying with cash and debit cards because they are a liquid form of payment. I agree with the fact that the younger generations are shying away from credit cards. I know that my parents have warned me of running up a credit card bill because the interest rates will make it extremely hard to pay off. I agree that people aren’t using apple pay that much because everyone still carry’s around their cards just incase. No one is willing to go out shopping and risk their phone dying and not being able to continue to shop.
It’s very interesting to see how different generations handle paying for things differently. For example, my grandparents always use cash and always have, but my parents have always used credit cards. The fact that this large of a percentage are using cash to pay for gifts in this day and age really surprises me, especially because I see a lot of younger people using credit and debit cards. The only reason why it doesn’t surprise me as much is because credit cards can certainly get people in a lot of debt trouble and around the holidays, when everyone is spending so much, using cash can allow you to make sure you will not run into any trouble with paying back your credit card bill.
I was surprised to see how many people will be using cash and debit cards over credit cards. I was expecting to top the list but the explanations for why the results turned out this way make a lot of sense. I myself have been warned by my parents not to use my credit card too much so majority of my purchases are done with debit or cash.
I find it pretty interesting how many people were planning on paying with cash over credit/debit cards. The plastic seems to be incredibly more popular than cash nowadays. I suppose that recent invents taking place in technology can allow people to hack into your credit/debit accounts which might cause some havoc.
This result surprised me because I never thought that so many people would like to pay with cash. I like to pay with credit card because it sometimes saves me a lot by getting cash backs. However, I could understand that people do not use credit cards for fear of overspent. Another concern is about financial securities using credit cards. Banks should improve the security level of credit cards.
Personally, I plan on paying for my holiday purchases with a debit card. Plastic has always been more convenient for me, especially if my wallet is stolen. If something happens to my card I can simply cancel it and get a new one. With cash, if my wallet is stolen I can not just freely walk into a bank, or call chase claims, and request to be compensated. This video was actually surprising considering the fact that a lot of people I know own and frequently use debit/credit cards. I guess paying with cash is a more secure way of assuring yourself that you can, at the moment, afford the gift you are purchasing. I can also attest to the fact that I do not own a credit card. My parents struggled with credit card repayments because they frequently defaulted when they were younger, so they warned me against ever getting one. If I do not have the funds to afford something at the moment that I want to buy it, bargaining that I will be able to afford it in the future seems risky.
I think it understandable as to why cash and debit are the two most popular forms of payment. I personally like paying cash or debit because it is a one time charge, and it does not come back to haunt later like a credit card payment. The video makes a good point that after seeing the repercussions of the Great Recession, millennials are more likely to want to avoid debt. Speaking for myself, I do not believe in debt. I was a little surprised that more people do not pay with credit, and even more surprised that it was the higher earners that pay with credit because I thought that they would be more likely to have the funds upfront. The security factor is a solid point as well because more frequently than ever the media is covering a new credit card breach where millions of card holders’ information is compromised. With cash, this risk is not prevalent. I think that mobile payment is a good idea, but I question the security of that as well considering all the iCloud hacks that are covered in the media.
When I do any type of shopping, I always pay with a debit card. I find using a debit card to be much more convenient and beneficial than paying with cash or with a credit card. I never carry cash on me due to the fear of getting it stolen or losing it. There is also no way to keep strict track of your purchase history when paying with cash. If I were to lose my debit card, it would be very simple for me to call the bank, cancel the card, and order a new one. Furthermore, I have a banking app on my phone that allows me to see how much money is in my account and to keep track of my purchase history. I do not like using a credit card because I believe it is easy to rack up a high bill when the money is not taken directly from your account when you make a purchase. I do not like the idea of my credit being able to come back to haunt me.
I was so surprised that many people prefer to pay with debits and cash. For myself I would definitely prefer using credit cards because it gives me flexibility to manage my money and also the cash back is rewarding. But I understand those who tend to choose debit or cash don’t want to owe anybody money or overspend.
It makes a lot of sense that the higher percentage of payment plans would be credit and debit cards. Not many people have a lot of cash on hand to be able to pay for expensive gifts. However, I am a waitress at a bar and restaurant and I make a lot of money in tips. All my tips are in cash and I never have time to deposit the cash. This is not very smart of me, but I like it better because it helps me know how much money I am spending. When I swipe my debit/credit card I tend to spend a lot more money than I actually originally wanted too. So i paid with cash for the gifts I got.
In this holiday shopping, i just use the discover card.This is a credit card, because as a international students,if i want to accumulate more credit score, using credit card is the main method. And also in this year, we can combine apple pay and discover card to pay, why i want to do, the reason is that using this way to pay you will get 22% cashback. however, there are still two restricts. the first thing is that a few stores have machine which can use apple pay through it. and other thing is that the customers just can get 11% in this year, but they need to wait a whole year to get the rest 11%. Now, to be honest, i worry about whether i indeed get the other 11% cashback after 12 months.
I expected the majority of shoppers to be using their credit card over anything else. Just take the example of Targets shoppers who got hacked for using their cards and the money they lost. Credit is easier and safer to use as opposed to cash and debit cards. Its rare to find an individual who doesnt have a credit card. Unless their credit is really bad and they cant obtain one, i cant see a reason for not using a card. Not to mention earning points on your card for airfare and other good merchandise can be accumulated from buying all the gifts you need for the holiday season. Normally an average consumer wouldn’t use their credit card for everything but in this time of the year some cards have special promotions for using your card in certain ways. Like double points for retail purchases and triple rewards for purchases made on black friday. i will most likely be using my credit card to pay for most of my purchases this holiday season.
This is so true. When I work at the Mall I always use the ATM and especially during the holidays the ATM line is pretty long. The fee can range from 2.50 to 3.50. A lot of people will also use their credit cards especially if they are spending a lot of money. People come into the stores and throw their credit cards at the employees like it is no tomorrow. I also realized that people who want to safe money will take out cash and not go back to the ATM because they don’t want to spend more than they have too.
I find this video very accurate because I did see the payment method trends over the weekend of Black Friday sales. I give myself a budget for the night of hitting the outlets by carrying cash on me. If necessary, I will use my debit card to cover extra expenses. While my parents were just swiping their cards to their hearts content. It is nice to know these payment method trends from a business’s perspective because the businesses will get a better understanding of their market segments’ purchasing behavior and adapt with better marketing campaigns in the future.
I personally think it’s so smart for shoppers to focus on using cash during the holiday season, as it allows for the customer to track how much they spend. My grandma has always used cash, my mother uses checks, and my father tends to use his credit card. I think it’s so interesting to see how differently shoppers spend their money based upon the payment that is most comfortable to them. As someone who uses her part-time job to pay for my holiday shopping, I find the easiest form is to use my debit card as I’m able to know how much I have in my account without worrying about piling charges onto my credit card and not knowing how I will pay it back. Debit cards to me are much like cash and allow customers to have the easiest experience as possible shopping and are also the easiest way to keep track of our holiday spending.
I find this article very interesting because I would think shoppers would use credit cards more. Especially for department stores where you can earn points and get money back to spend there. Also, with all the gifts ordered online I would think the percentage would be higher. But I guess it does make sense since taking out cash helps to discourage overspending. I think I’m going to try and pay with cash next year so I don’t overspend.
WOW a lot of comments. I do find this post interesting but not shocking, as the video highlighted i feel both economic “class” as well as generation have a major impact on payment method. For example many individuals making under 75k annually prefer cash, the video cites fear of overspending as a cause for this however it neglects to highlight the fact that individuals making under 75k annually are the majority population of workers paid in cash illegally “off the books.”
On a different point however I do feel the comments about millennia’s being fearful of debt is accurate largely due to the great recession for this reason it makes sense that millennia’s would shy away from credit card usage. As I said initially i don’t find the vides findings shocking however I do feel they are largely accurate
I find logical the fact that people are going to pay mostly in cash. as the year end comes, we expect people to have less money and to need to ask for credit to get the Christmas gifts. I think this is a fallacy, because most people are aware during the whole year of the big expense that Christmas represents therefore they have plenty of preparation for this time of the year. also is important to mention that many people get end of the year bonus at the end of november, therefore more people have available money to spend and don’t need to use credit.
I wasn’t shocked when I watched the video and found out that a lot of people in this generation would be paying for their stuff with cash because when I go out with my friends, a majority of us pay with cash than our debit cards. I know my mom loves to use her credit card and my grandparents love to use cash. Me, personally, I like to use cash and my debit card because with a debit card, I don’t have to worry about loose change.