Mail in the credit card sector

The credit crunch has seen the retail banking industry consolidate and contract. Most major advertisers have cut their budgets and demand for consumer credit remains subdued.

This 2011 MMC report uses the latest Ebiquity, Mintel, Nielsen Ad Dynamix, Royal Mail Consumer Panel and TGI data to offer a snapshot of the UK’s credit card market.

While the number of credit cards issued has continued to fall, more people are using debit cards, so the number of finance cards in circulation is still rising.

And, as more consumers go online and ecommerce continues to expand, both the credit and debit card markets are expected to benefit.

Key insights include:

• Finance card mailings enjoy a high open rate, with 91% of consumers interacting with the direct mail content.

• Direct mail continues to be the favoured media channel for credit card advertisers, with a 58% share of advertising spend for the period September 2010 – August 2011.

• Advertising spend for the period September 2010 - August 2011 shows some sign of recovery, with growth of 54% over the previous 12 months.

• There is an opportunity to target frequent users of credit cards who are ABC1, aged 25-34 or 55+ with direct mail, as these groups are relatively under mailed.

• Heavy users of direct mail are more likely to influence others about financial services brands.