Consumers are using general purpose credit cards less.

• Position: Brief article

U.S. CONSUMERS HAVE BECOME EXTREMELY CREDIT CONSCIOUS, steering away from the use of general purpose credit cards, according to a new report from Mercator Advisory Group, Boston. Today, many consumers are electing to use other payment types, even hard cash, for the purchase of goods and services, the report notes.

What's not transparent is whether or not consumers are conditioning themselves and modifying their behaviors indefinitely or just until the economy recovers, says the report entitled, "Credit Cardholders: A...