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12 |
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7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
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11 |
34 |
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11 |
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24 |
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6 |
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17 |
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6 |
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16 |
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2 |
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10 |
16 |
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4 |
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12 |
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| FRA |
4 |
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2 |
11 |
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| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
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| NED |
3 |
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Visa is golden at Games
Credit-card usage is way up at area stores, restaurants
By Brice Wallace
Deseret News business writer
Gold. Silver. Bronze.
Also coming to prominence during these Olympic Winter Games is plastic.
Statistics from Visa indicate that credit cards are flying from wallets and purses faster than a two-person bobsled on a banana peel. Purchases made with Visa cards at Salt Lake metro area merchants from Feb. 1 through Monday totaled $129 million, up 30.5 percent from the same period last February, when $99 million in buys were tacked onto Visa accounts.
The figure also is up 23 percent from the $105 million charged by Visa users during the same days in January.
"We're probably seeing 60 to 70 percent right now in our charge business, and that's probably up maybe 20 percent of normal," said John Speros, owner of Lamb's Grill Cafe in downtown Salt Lake City.
"There are a lot of travelers, and you expect to see more of them charging instead of using cash."
At specialty and apparel merchants, Visa sales volume was up 71 percent over last February and 55 percent from January for the same dates. Buyers there have charged $31 million on their Visa cards this month. Last year, the figure was $18 million; last month, $20 million.
At restaurants, February Visa charges totaled $11 million, up 50 percent from $7.3 million last February and 40 percent over the $7.8 million in January.
Visa is the official payment service and the only card accepted at Olympics venues. The company has a special Olympics ATM network and more than 600 point-of-sale acceptance devices at competition and noncompetition venues, including the Main Media Center, the Olympic Village, Olympic Square, the Olympic Medals Plaza and other sites.
One might expect card users to uncork the credit cards only for larger purchases and perhaps use cash for the puny ones. Not so, Speros said.
"I don't think it matters. If you're here and vacationing with the idea of paying for it all when you get home, it doesn't matter if it's a $10 ticket or
a $100 ticket. You charge it, regardless," he said.
The San Francisco Music Box Co. store in downtown Salt Lake City has seen relatively slow business during the Games, but manager Chantelle Jones said she has seen some credit-card trends.
"I guess it's been about half cash and half credit cards, so we haven't seen an increase either way," she said. "But locals usually will pay cash. People from out of the country or from out of state will use credit cards. That's probably smart."
Jeff Sloate, manager of the Baci Club, agreed that out-of-towners are doing more charging than Utah customers.
"In the first few days, a lot more people were charging, but now more are using cash," Sloate said. "And my bartender, who is the cashier, was just telling me that Visa is the No. 1 card being used. Imagine that.
"We expected a lot of people to use the cards. We stocked up with credit-card supplies, big-time. And we expect more people to charge as the Games finish. That will be when their cash flow runs out and they go to credit cards."
Olympic pin buyers apparently are using credit cards in Olympic-sized proportions. Ron Toth, owner of Pin Pardners International, which is selling collector pins at the Crossroads Plaza, said Visa and other credit cards are getting a workout.
"In a typical day in my business, we'll run 45 percent on credit cards," he said. "I like it because people tend to spend more with a card. Since I started accepting them a year ago, it fully increased sales by 50 percent. It was a huge move."
The folks buying pins last February were a different customer base, obviously, but the heavy credit-card use was expected during the Games, he said.
"It just extends your payment time by between 15 and 30 days, and it's more of an option, especially if you're running short on cash. You can save the cash for a tip or for someplace that doesn't take a credit card," Toth said.
Also intriguing is the Visa statistic that shows the daily spending average at Olympics venues in Salt Lake City is about 89 percent of the daily spending average at Olympics venues in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Games. The company described that as "remarkable," considering the smaller group of athletes and competitions at a winter event.
For pins, food, clothing or Olympics what-not, some Utah businesses like seeing the influx of cards.
"I'm just glad," Speros said, "that a lot of them are using it here."
E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com
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February 20, 2002
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