ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.–Debit and credit card spending among credit card members both increased during November, according to the December edition of the Velera Payments Index, which also includes a deep dive into international transactions in the Goods sector and an update on 2025 holiday spending.
The report found there has been a steep drop in international goods purchases following the implementation of President Trump’s tariffs.
According to the new Velera Payments Index, in November, year-over-year consumer spending growth remained consistent and positive.
“While consumer sentiment surveys have shown mixed results, concerns about high prices remain,” Velera stated. “Following the end of the six-week government shutdown, reporting on various economic indicators — including job growth, unemployment and inflation — resumed with the posting of the November results.”
Economic Factors of Note
In releasing its report, Velera noted:
- In November, consumer confidence fell in the Consumer Confidence Index by 6.9 points to 88.7. Older demographics have less confidence in improvement, with those over 55 years old being the least upbeat. Consumers aged 35 and over experienced a decline in confidence, while those under 35 years of age showed some improvement.
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its November update, showing a 0.2% rise in inflation for November. Data for October 2025 is mainly unavailable due to the government shutdown, potentially distorting the view of annual results. This takes the 12-month Consumer Price Index (CPI) to 2.7%.
- After the six-week government shutdown, the BLS reported that the overall unemployment rate for November increased to 4.6%, or 7.8 million people, the highest in four years. While the economy added 64,000 jobs in November, there were 105,000 jobs lost in October 2025, highlighting concerns about the overall strength of the U.S. economy.
‘Mixed Signals’
“This holiday season, with mixed signals in consumer confidence, we wanted to offer an incentive to activate low-usage cardholders and keep our card top of wallet,” Natalie Baker, VP-marketing with Dominion Energy Credit Union, said in a statement provided by Velera. “By working with Velera’s Advisors Plus, we were able to align our campaigns with market trends and develop strategies that made sense based on cost, expected returns and lift. Their insight helped us analyze past results, forecast future performance and apply best practices to maximize impact. Thanks to their guidance, our current holiday campaign has achieved a 33% response rate, with an increase of over 17% in transactional dollar volume, putting us on track to exceed last year’s results. This momentum reflects the benefit of yearly planning and consistent campaign execution.”
Key Takeaways
According to Velera, key takeaways for November include:
- While consumer sentiment showed mixed results, actual purchasing activity continued to grow consistently in November. Debit purchases increased by 4.2%, with the Goods and Money Services sectors accounting for 80% of that growth. Credit purchases were up 1.9%, with the Goods and Services sectors accounting for just under 80% of the increase. For November, year-over-year growth in debit transactions was up 2.3% and credit transactions increased by 2%.
- Consumers spent record amounts online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday (Nov. 27 through Dec. 1), building on the strong performance in 2024. Overall debit purchases increased by 1.1% and debit purchases in the Goods sector rose by 3.8% within the Payments Index dataset for this intensive five-day spending period. Overall credit purchases increased by 0.2%, while credit purchases in the Goods sector decreased by 0.1%.
- There was a drop in International Goods credit purchase growth coinciding with the initial tariff announcements in April, followed by an even steeper decline in growth after the elimination of the de minimis exemption in late August.
The full report is available for download here
