While restaurants logged an increase in transactions in August, average checks declined because of heavy discounting, according to First Data, a payment card processing firm.

Solid back-to-school shopping activity led to growth in the number of transactions across several retail sectors last month, as well as a jump in the use of credit, First Data found in its “August 2010 SpendTrend” report.

Same-store dollar volume for spending in all retail sectors grew 7.9 percent last month compared with August 2009, excluding automobile sales. Transactions paid for with debit and credit cards grew 8.3 percent last month, excluding automobile sales, compared with a year earlier. In July, dollar volume and transaction growth were 8.5 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively, First Data reported.

Restaurants and drinking places grew their same-store dollar volume 4.8 percent in August, and they increased their transaction counts by 10.1 percent.

While total spending and traffic grew in August, average checks across industries declined 0.4 percent, according to First Data, which cited aggressive discount activity.

Restaurants had the highest decrease in average checks, with a 4.8-percent decline in August, First Data reported. In comparison, retail outlets had a 1.2-percent decrease in average checks for the month, and services outlets had a 2.9-percent decline. Leisure outlets grew their average check by 2.5 percent during the month, and gas stations and hotels had 1.7-percent increases in their average checks.

The SpendTrend report also showed a greater willingness for consumers to use credit at the point of sale. For August, year-over-year credit card transactions grew 3.7 percent, compared with declines of 9.6 percent and 5.5 percent in the third and fourth quarters of 2009, respectively, and smaller upticks of 0.4 percent and 1.8 percent in the first two quarters of this year.

Growth in PIN debit card transactions slowed to 9.1 percent in August, compared with 12 percent in July 2010, and August signature debit purchases slowed to 11.5 percent, from 13.2 percent in July.

First Data, whose U.S. headquarters is in Atlanta, is a global technology and payment processing firm, which services more than 5 million merchant locations, more than 2,000 credit and debit card issuers, and millions of consumers worldwide.

Contact Mark Brandau at mbrandau@nrn.com.