The winter holiday festivities are underway, and when it comes to the local malls, the holiday spending spirit seems to have already been in place for weeks. The season for swiping (credit cards) has begun.
Before many of them set out with holiday gift lists in tow, they may be setting their sights on new lines of credit – by adding to their artillery of plastic. With 477.6 million existing credit card accounts, what do these consumers look like?
While we can all agree that the meaning behind winter holiday celebrations is not the act of spending and giving material gifts, the two have come to be synonymous. This year is anticipated to be no different.
When asked to describe their anticipated spending for the holidays this year, a recent Mintel survey said 56% of respondents planned to spend the same amount as they did last year. Nearly a quarter of respondents (23%) said they planned to spend more than they did last year.
The uptick in spending as the year rounds out is no news flash. It is engrained within the fiscal landscape of each year, arguably its own tradition. According to a recent Experian consumer survey, Americans plan to spend an average of almost $850 on holiday gifts this year.
Given what we know of consumers – and ourselves – as increased spending is upon us, credit card openings and usage are also on the rise.
In order to capitalize on fulfilling your consumers needs during this bustling time filled with shopping bags and loaded online carts, it’s important to know what consumers look for in a credit card.
Want to attract those holiday shoppers? The key to getting your plastic in their wallet is rewards, rewards, rewards. 58% of consumers will select a credit card for its rewards – including cash back, gas rewards, and retail gift cards – according to recent Experian consumer survey research.
Is your credit card program stacked with rewards-ready options? Now what? Go where your consumers are – and for many of them that means online. While traditional retailers are still preferred destinations for holiday shopping, online is increasingly becoming a preferred way of shopping. 90% of consumers plan to do holiday shopping online, according to a Mintel study.
Online shopping trends and online credit card applications trends seem to go hand in hand, according to Mintel and Experian data.
Whether your consumers are looking for deals, that adrenaline rush of waiting until the last minute, or a trip to just get away from it all, credit cards can help them get there.
And while the hustle and bustle of the holidays are ramping up, following the holidays quickly comes the new year – another close to 12 months of consumer spending (not just the dollars spent during this festive season). Consumer behavior across the entire year can be the key to enhancing your marketing and account management strategies.
By knowing how much your consumers spend on all the plastic in their wallets – think bank cards too – you can offer customized reward programs, create strategies to maximize wallet share and retain profitable customers. Learn more about the first commercially-available spend algorithm built from credit data and tap into your wallet share for each consumer.
