Although some reports of Thanksgiving Weekend sales have beenlackluster, America's favorite shopping holiday boosted debit andcredit transactions for many credit unions across the country.

Stronger consumer confidence was reflected in increased creditcard usage, according to numerous recent reports from majorprocessors.

First Data's 2014 SpendTrend Holiday Shopping Spend Analysis, which examinedin-store transaction data at more than one million merchantlocations from Nov. 27 to Cyber Monday on Dec. 1, uncoveredyear-over-year retail dollar volume growth of 5.3% and retailtransaction growth of 5%, compared to last year.

“Despite only modest growth from last year, there were someencouraging signs in the data, including a shift from debit tocredit card usage that indicates strong consumer confidence,” KrishMantripragada, senior VP of information and analytics solutions forAtlanta-based First Data, said in a press release announcing thereport. “The boost in credit spending may indicate that consumersare feeling more confident about their current financial situation,likely driven by the improvement in the labor market and reductionin gasoline prices.”

This year's small increase was a slight dip from last year'sretail dollar volume growth of 7.4% and retail transaction growthof 6%, First Data said.

Retailers that opened early on Thanksgiving succeeded in gettingshoppers to the store earlier, but the sales tactic did not make asignificant impact as Thanksgiving Day, comparatively, was thelowest performing of all five days, First Data said.

On the other hand, Thanksgiving Day saw the largest increase indebit card spending, with an increase of 14% over 2013 for creditunions using CO-OP Financial Services for transaction processing,according to a press release issued by CO-OP, Saylent and TheMembers Group.

The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based CO-OP, which recently earnedApple Pay processor status, noted that member spending jumpedalmost 13% for credit transactions and 7% for debit, compared tolast year, at 20 different merchant types during the five-dayperiod.

The year-over-year comparison was performed through an advancedanalytics solution, CO-OP Revelation, powered by Saylent, and wasconducted by Saylent's FInsights360 consulting team, the companiessaid.

“This year CO-OP and Saylent have tracked debit card spendingduring four periods – Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Augustback-to-school shopping and now Thanksgiving – and we havefound increases in each case,” CO-OP President/CEO Stan Hollensaid. “As with back-to-school shopping, the increased number oftransactions was key to the increase in total dollars spent.”

Comparing 2013 to 2014, credit union members increased theirdebit card usage and spend most at cosmetic stores, with a close to108% increase in transactions and a 98% increase in spending,according to the report.

“Despite reports that shopping was down over this time periodcompared to last year, we found that debit card spending in factincreased across members of the credit unions we analyzed,” SaylentPresident/CEO Tyson Nargassans said. “This continues the trendwe've seen throughout each of the time periods we examined thisyear, with credit union members increasing their debit card usageand spend compared to 2013.”

For credit unions using CO-OP Financial Services for transactionprocessing, the day with the largest increase in debit cardspending, compared to last year, wasn't Black Friday or CyberMonday, but rather Thanksgiving Day, with an increase of 14%,

On the other hand, Black Friday was the biggest day for creditcard spending, accounting for 42% of all credit card transactions,for institutions that partner with The Members Group, according tothe Des Moines, Iowa-based payments processing CUSO

On average, the transacting cardholder also spent more on BlackFriday ($147.63) compared to Cyber Monday ($131.45) andThanksgiving ($111.54), TMG said.

Analysis noted a 12.97% boost in credit spending for users whocarry credit cards issued by TMG's clients, the company said.

TMG's analysts attribute the increase to healthy growth in thecredit card portfolios of TMG's clients and the fact cardholdersused their credit cards on average 1.35% more this year as comparedto last year, the company said.

The analysis was courtesy of the card processor's proprietaryanalysis tool, ClearTrend, which can provide similar data on aper-FI basis for TMG processing clients, the company said.

“Our issuing partners want to understand transaction volumetrends, yet they are also interested in data that demonstrates anevolution in the way consumers are paying,” TMG CEO Shazia Manussaid. “Are they increasingly turning to digital channels, and whenthey are, which platforms are providing the best experience? Theseare just a few of the critical data points our credit union andcommunity-based financial institution clients rely on as theydevelop new payment strategies for the future.”

TMG analysis also noted that credit card shopping fromonline and mobile devices increased 24.7% year-over-year, withAmazon leading all merchants in credit card spending, the companysaid.