Fully 25% of U.S. merchants that accept payment cards experienced a drop of 56% or more in card volume in April compared with February, finds a new study from The Strawhecker Group.
After analyzing billions of transactions from more than 1 million card-accepting merchants across the United States, the Omaha, Neb.-based research firm said the drop is staggering. The median decrease is 19%, meaning half were below and half were above this number in credit and debit card volume. The median decreases varied by state, with New York at a 64% decrease, but Georgia at a 38% decrease. The analysis, included in “Covid-19 Snapback Report,” released Wednesday, also attempts to provide information that might indicate which states could more quickly resume usual economic activity.
The variations mean acquirers and payments providers will have to tailor their recovery efforts, says John Jakobe, market research analyst at Strawhecker.