U.S. Households receive record 5.23 billion credit card offers in 2004 reports Synovate's Mail Monitor®
22 March 2005
TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK — DURING 2004, US households received an estimated 5.23 billion credit card offers according to Mail Monitor®, the direct mail tracking service from Synovate. This was up 22% compared to 2003 and exceeds the previous mail volume record of 5.01 billion offers set in 2001.
"Along with a modestly improving economy, the prospect of further increases in the Prime Rate have caused issuers to flood US mailboxes with offers in order to make the most of the low rate environment while it lasts," said Andrew Davidson, Vice President of Competitive Tracking Services for Synovate's Financial Services Practice. Indications that volumes would hit new heights emerged during the first quarter of 2004 when several major issuers returned to the use of direct mail following cutbacks in 2003. "The conditions that drove the increase in mail volume were set in first quarter and were maintained through the year," said Davidson.
The percentage of US households receiving an offer each month in 2004 remained relatively flat at 71% compared to 69% in 2003. The average number of offers received by these households each month now stands at 5.7 or approximately 68 offers per year per household.
"The new annual record is fueled by increased clutter among households that already receive credit card mail," said Davidson. "The percentage of US households receiving mail, known as household penetration, has only increased slightly," he added.
Household penetration peaked at 79% in 2001 when issuers extended their offerings to less credit-worthy or sub-prime households. However the rise in personal bankruptcies and increasing unemployment caused issuers to cut back on these mailings in 2002 and 2003. Despite an upturn in 2004, penetration among these households is nowhere near former levels.
The high level of clutter has caused response rates to drop to an all time low of 0.4% in 2004 from 0.6% in 2003. "The response rate is low, but the sheer volume of mail solicitations generates millions of applications each month." said Davidson. "Increasingly consumers are being encouraged to use the telephone or internet to apply, however, direct mail is still the key channel when it comes to obtaining the application in the first place."
About Mail Monitor®
Mail Monitor® is part of Synovate's Financial Services Practice which provides marketing research, competitive intelligence and consulting services to the banking and payments industries. More information on Synovate can be found at www.synovate.com.
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Andrew Davidson
Vice President |
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222 South Riverside Plaza |
Telephone: +1 914-332-5300 |
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