Headline: Consumer Spending trends: U.S. consumers reduced debt by a record $21.6 billion in July.

Details: This is great news for those trying to get out of debt and bodes well for reduction of our nation’s debt number. However, this reduction in debt related purchases shows that larger ticket items that involve going into more debt are being pushed off. This suggests that most of the offers that you promote should be smaller ticket items that drive real “value for the money”. Stay away from products that have a big impact on personal debt and look at products that help support this trend (like the compliant debt reduction and loan consolidation advertisers). Also, this data supports our earlier Intel reports covering the fact that consumers are looking for deals and ways to save money. Continue to look at “couponing”, bill reduction services, and other deal sites, as folks are remaining vigilant about their reduced spending.

Other notable highlights:
* The drop in consumer debt for the month was the largest since the Fed began tracking the data (1943)
* This is the sixth straight monthly decline in outstanding consumer debt (the the longest reduction streak since 1991)
* Paying down debt (and getting finances tuned up) is a great strategy for individuals, but it doesn’t help a recovery for the US, as we are deeply dependent on consumer spending
* The biggest decline in July’s numbers was auto loans, which fell by $15.4 billion
* Consumer debt declined at an annual rate of 10.4% in July
* Overall, outstanding debt fell from $2.494 trillion to $2.472 trillion.

Full article HERE.