Dubai: The credit card spending of the UAE based card holders is largely focused on hotels, airlines and clothes, according to a recent analysis of card spend data from the country by Citi.
The Citi study based on the spending pattern UAE credit card cardholders whilst abroad during the most recent holiday season showed that the UAE consumers spent the most on hotels (26 per cent), airlines (11 per cent) and clothes (8 per cent) respectively.
“For consumers who travel, the right reward credit card can give them the flexibility to redeem points for partially or fully covering for their travel expenses. Opting to use accumulated rewards points for booking a trip is a more convenient way to lower overall cost for greater spending on other products or services,” said Dinesh Sharma, Consumer Banking Head, Citi, MENA
Data showed spending reached its peak in December and January during the holiday season last year. Seasonal declines meant that spending in September was among the lowest of the year as consumers marked the end of the summer season and vacationing spending highs.
The analysis uses aggregate client data based on statistics on credit card purchases made by Citibank clients through both POS [point of sales] and online. The study analysed the monthly trend over the period of January 2012 — September 2014, inclusive. The sample includes 120,000 clients from the Citi UAE credit card base. Online spend trends are taken from July 2013 onwards. The sample included only men and women between the ages of 20 to 50 years of age or more and with a monthly income between Dh5,000 to Dh100,000 residing in the seven emirates in the UAE.
While travel related spending emerged as leading credit card use form in the UAE, the UK, US, France India and Lebanon were top international country destinations with London, New York, Mumbai and Istanbul emerging as leading cities that attracted cardholders from the UAE. In the GCC, Doha, Riyadh, Jeddah, Muscat and Kuwait were the top city destinations for Citicard holders.
Overall customer spending abroad from May 2013 to September 2014 has increased in dollars by almost 45 per cent. During Eid, consumers used their credit cards more in person when shopping, but to book airline tickets spending was almost exclusively online.
Men have historically spent the most in person and online, but women are gaining ground with notable increases in both segments this year. Data showed men spent the most on hotels and airlines, while women spent the most on clothes.
