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Debit and credit cardholders in the United Kingdom spent £11.9 billion (US$28.8 billion or 15.1 billion euros) at home-supply and hardware stores between August 2007 and August 2008, up 2.6% from £11.6 billion for the previous 12 months, according to figures released Friday by UK-based payments association APACS. The association measured spending in so-called do-it-yourself, or DIY, stores that sell such products as lumber, glass, paint, plumbing and heating supplies, an APACS spokesperson tells CardLine Global. Most cardholders making purchases in those stores used their debit cards. Debit cards accounted for £6.57 billion worth of purchases, and for 152.4 million transactions out of 229 million total card transactions for the 12-month period, the group says. May was the most-popular month for card purchases from do-it-yourself stores, with 22.8 million transactions and £1.15 billion worth of purchases.
