Debit Card Online Shopping Trends

A (www.gallup.com) Gallup Poll of 1,252 debit cardholders conducted in September for (www.visa.com) Visa U.S.A. found that 180 respondents (14.4%) had purchased a product or service on the Internet using a debit card. Among those respondents who had used debit cards, the most popular items purchased online were books, 27.2%; music, 11.7%; travel (cruise, airline, hotel rental car), 10%; computer software, 9.4%; and bills/payments/memberships, 9.4%.
Among the 285 debit cardholders with experience buying merchandise on the Internet but not with a debit card, 45.3% cited a preference for using a credit card, 12.3% said they were unaware they could use their debit card or never thought about using it, 11.9% said they did not want to give out their debit card numbers and 7.4% said they did not want anyone knowing what they were buying. The purchase amount and the available account balances were cited as reasons they did not choose a debit card by 2.5% and 2.1% of respondents, respectively.
Visa does not intend to promote debit card use online, says Robert Baker Jr., Visa senior vice president. "I don't know that this changes our whole approach here to convince consumers to use debit cards instead of checks and cash, neither of which you generally can use on the Internet," Baker says. "So I don't believe on the debit side of Visa we will do anything to promote usage on the Internet."