RoperASW – Increase In Credit Card Use.

RoperASW announced that daily credit card use is on the rise, allowing consumers to maintain their lifestyles during the economic downturn.

According to RoperASW, 36 percent of credit card owners are using their cards more frequently than last year. Key factors for this increase include the perception by more than half of those surveyed that credit is safer and more convenient than cash. The second reason, according to more than 30 percent of respondents, is the need for credit cards when making online or telephone purchases.

Additionally, more than eight in ten Americans believe that credit cards are good for emergencies, up 7 points since 2000 and one in three say credit cards allow them to buy things they don’t have the money for right now.

According to RoperASW Vice President Cary Silvers, this increase in credit card usage is also driven by the perception that items once considered “luxuries” (i.e. cell phones) are now considered “necessities.”

“Despite the economic downturn and rising unemployment, consumers are still spending by relying on credit,” said Silvers. “We see no end in sight to this trend, in part because consumers are unwilling to forgo their needs and wants and change their lifestyles.”

Unlike the wild credit card spending of earlier decades, however, RoperASW has found that today’s consumers are more financially savvy and no longer have 4-6 cards running at high balances at the same time. Rather, the focus today is on selectively using one or two major credit cards as “all-purpose” cards, which enables consumers to pay off existing debt and help avoid future problems. Additionally, the survey revealed that most consumers are confident that they will be able to pay off their bills before large balances accrue.