> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.americanspend.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.americanspend.com/measures.md).

# Measures

The four figures on every answer.

Every answer carries the same four measures. Pick the one the question is asking.

| Measure           | What it is                                             | Use it for                                |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- |
| Transactions      | How often people buy                                   | Habit merchants and visit frequency       |
| Unique purchasers | How many distinct accounts bought at least once        | Adoption, launches, and subscriptions     |
| Spend             | Total dollars paid to the merchant                     | Wallet share and head-to-head comparisons |
| Average ticket    | Spend divided by transactions, what one visit is worth | Pricing, trade-down, and basket size      |

Published figures are spending observed in American Spend's data. They are not a merchant's reported revenue, and they are not a census of all U.S. spending. The graph covers card-based consumer activity among the accounts it sees.

Cash, ACH, wire transfers, and non-card payments fall outside the graph. So do items in the basket, foot traffic, an online-versus-store split, and intraday data.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters:

```
GET https://docs.americanspend.com/measures.md?ask=<question>&goal=<user_goal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.