Credit card spending falls 51% in April: Survey

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Credit card spending tumbled 51 percent in April amid the coronavirus lockdown, though categories like streaming platforms and online classes saw growth, a survey said.

Credit card spending dropped initially by 10 percent when the lockdown was announced in March and declined further by 51 percent when it was in full swing April-onwards, according to the survey by digital platform CRED.

CRED conducted the survey online with over a million members across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru in the first week of May.

The survey revealed that the drop in spending was due to offline retail and online marketplaces suspending operations during the lockdown.

Some of the major spending categories that saw a drop included online food ordering and dining out, with more individuals purchasing groceries and preparing meals at home, it said.

However, some categories saw a substantial rise, including digital subscriptions for services like OTT streaming platforms, online classes and e-newspaper subscriptions, it added.

Spends on travel and cab services declined when the lockdown was announced and subsequently during that period. However, Delhiites still prioritised fuelling up during this time with nowhere to go.

In March, fuel spends in Delhi rose by 50 percent, while there was no spike in Mumbai or Bengaluru.

Cab spends decreased by 43 percent in Delhi, while it dropped by 39 percent in Mumbai and 41 percent in Bengaluru.

In April, fuel spends decreased by 53 percent in Delhi, 78 percent in Mumbai and 55 percent in Bengaluru.

Similarly, cab spends decreased by 88 percent in Delhi, 90 percent in Mumbai and 89 percent in Bengaluru.

The survey also found that there was a noticeable decline in e-commerce and physical shopping across all cities during this time.

The e-commerce spends increased marginally when the lockdown was announced, but then dropped significantly during the lockdown as only essential goods were sold for a majority of this period, it added.

In March, e-commerce expenses increased marginally by 1 percent in Delhi and 2 percent in Bengaluru, but slipped 7 percent in Mumbai.

However in April, e-commerce spending plunged 89 percent in Delhi, 92 percent in Mumbai and 87 percent in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, the survey revealed that Mumbai prioritised spending on health when the lockdown was announced, with spikes in both insurance and medical spending.

In March, insurance spends rose across all three cities, with the highest spike noticed in Mumbai at 23 percent, followed by Delhi (11 percent) and Bengaluru (9 percent).

However, in April insurance spends dropped by 20 percent in Mumbai, 21 percent in Delhi and 14 percent in Bengaluru.

Medical spends rose by 100 percent in Mumbai in March and by 14 percent in Bengaluru, while it remained flat in Delhi. In April, it dropped by 58 percent in Delhi, 35 percent in Mumbai and 33 percent in Bengaluru, the survey added.