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Merchant channels that are converting to electronic payments, such as fast food, or are heavily dependent on them, such as the Internet, continue to benefit from the impetus lent by the holiday shopping season. Visa USA's credit and debit card statistics for so-called Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, indicate dollar volume and transactions in the quick-service segment soared 59% and 78%, respectively, on Friday compared to the same day in 2003, reaching $28 million on almost 2.2 million transactions. Web volume and transactions, meanwhile, jumped 28% and 19%, reaching $234 million on more than 3.3 million transactions. Overall, e-commerce volume on Visa cards has increased by nearly one-third since Nov. 1 over the same period last year, the card company says. The Friday after Thanksgiving is traditionally considered the heaviest shopping day of the year, though Visa says its records indicate the Saturday before Christmas has in recent years overtaken spending on Black Friday.
