Study Shows Cash is Still King for Retail Sales

My training and consulting work focuses on business-to-business selling. But I also keep on eye on changes in consumer trends as this can indicate underlying movements in the way customers think and buy.

The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported that a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) study of consumer payment behaviour released on Wednesday found cash is still king, accounting for 70 per cent of all transactions.

EFTPOS and MasterCard and Visa debit card payments make up 15 per cent of all transactions, followed by MasterCard and Visa credit card transactions at nine per cent and American Express and Diners Club cards at one per cent.

Cash is overwhelmingly used for low value payments under $10 and for 75 per cent of payments between $11 and $25 for items such as take away food and bar bills.

Credit Card Loyalty Programs Work

The report aso found that loyalty programs offered by credit card companies do work.

For the average consumer, loyalty programs increase the probability of credit card use by 23 percentage points and reduce the probability of cash use by 14 percentage points.