Credit-Card Spending Data Reveals Much About CRE

Quinlan: “One thing 2008 taught us is that you have to move where the jobs are.”

SAN DIEGO—Consumers are spending more money on experiences than material goods, including their homes, which gives the CRE industry insight into future projects and planning, MasterCard’s SVP market insights Sarah Quinlan told attendees at MBA’s CREF/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo 2017 Tuesday. In her presentation, “What Does the Data Tell Us?”, Quinlan gave a fast-paced review of MasterCard credit-card spending habits over time, what they indicate about consumer preferences and priorities and how this information should be evaluated by CRE professionals.

Quinlan said understanding the trends in this data can help professionals benchmark what is critical to people and how they want to live their lives. With gas prices still 25% below their highs, consumer spending in other categories is up, which speaks to consumer financial health overall. “But, consumers don’t spend in the same way anymore. Having two people in a family working means that when a Saturday drops out of a month, spending decreases.” She added that it’s typically the woman in the family who controls spending, so more women in the workforce makes this fact significant.