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CO-OP Financial Services and Saylent Report: Back to School Spending Increases 9.2% Among Credit Union Members [Professional Services Close - Up](Professional Services Close - Up Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) CO-OP Financial Services and Saylent reported that back to school spending in anticipation of the 2014-15 school year was robust in August with a 9.2 percent increase recorded across 25 merchant types compared to August 2013. In a release, CO-OP Financial Services and Saylent noted that report highlights include: Merchants offering computer software, stores selling elementary/ secondary school supplies and bookstores were particularly busy leading up to Labor Day, according to an analysis of debit card transactions by CO-OP Financial Services and Saylent. "An increase in the number of transactions - up 7.9 percent - holds the key to the 9.2 percent spending increase," said Stan Hollen, President/CEO of CO-OP. "The amount-per-transaction rose only 1 percent - $50.72 in 2014 from $50.12 in 2013. So, credit union members were individually spending about the same amount, but there were more members making back-to-school purchases this year." This analysis of sales is based on transactions made during August, with results covering debit card activity nationwide by members of credit unions that use CO-OP for transaction processing. The year-over-year comparison was performed through an advanced analytics solution, CO-OP Revelation, powered by Saylent, and was conducted by Saylent's Insight360 consulting team. Among the highlights of the CO-OP Revelation data: -Total spending at the selected back-to-school merchant categories for August 2014 was $715.2 million compared to $654.9 million in August 2013, a 9.2 percent increase. The total number of transactions recorded in 2014 was 14.1 million versus 13.067 million in 2013, a 7.9 percent transaction increase. -Computer software was the merchant category with the biggest jump in 2014 compared to 2013, with spending up 44.3 percent and transaction volume up 48.5 percent. -Elementary/secondary school supplies stores achieved a spending increase of 29.3 percent and a transaction increase of 39.7 percent. -Bookstores realized a 20.1 percent increase in spending and a 24.1 percent increase in transactions. -Telecom spending rose 16.5 percent and transactions increased by 15.5 percent. -Department and stationary stores are the only groups where spending and transaction volume dropped in 2014 compared to the previous year. "CO-OP Revelation provides detailed and timely analysis on card usage to enable the credit unions to better understand what motivates their members," said Tyson Nargassans, president and CEO of Saylent. "Whether those payment analytics are used to develop offers on those purchases preferred by parents and students in back- to-school mode, or to help mitigate fraud related to a major breach, CO-OP Revelation allows participating credit unions to serve their members better every day." Franklin, Mass.-based Saylent provides financial institutions with analytics software that improves profitability and product solutions. Based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., CO-OP Financial Services is a credit union service organization. More information and complete details: www.co-opfs.org www.saylent.com ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |