The Green Sheet Online Edition

Credit card use grows with economy

The Online Credit Card Report 2010 released in April 2011 found 20 percent of U.S. cardholders shopped for new cards; but among consumers who told researchers the economy is improving, the number of people shopping for new cards rose to 34 percent.

ComScore said the 2010 study shows rising consumer interest in perks and incentives, such as low-interest rates and rewards programs, as well as a consumer shift to websites and mobile applications when shopping for new cards.

Sarah Lenart, comScore's Vice President of Financial Services, commented, "As we see consumer economic sentiment improve, we're also seeing a corresponding increase in retail and e-commerce spending along with increased card shopping, especially among those in the subprime sector. With shopping and card applications expected to continue to increase in 2011, consumers are likely to place even greater emphasis on competitive card features and offerings as well as enticing rewards programs."

The report analyzed responses from a research panel of 1 million consumers and a survey of 2,000 Internet users in the United States. It found the most popular credit card reward offerings are cash back (57 percent), merchant rewards (13 percent) and airline miles (10 percent).

Lenart said, "As people increasingly rely on digital channels to manage their credit card accounts, it's important to understand what degree consumers are using them and how these access methods create value for issuers' key customer segments."

First Data SpendTrend shows growth

Rising gas prices and a late Easter contributed to continuing growth in consumer spending in April 2011, First Data Corp. found in its SpendTrend analysis. The survey reported transaction growth remained steady at 6.7 percent in March and April. Dollar volume grew 6.7 percent (excluding gas purchases).

Retailer, banker relationship changing

In 2010, 80 percent of retailers switched banks to lower costs, the new 2011 AFP Retail Industry Survey found. Retailers started with new banks to obtain better pricing (53 percent), diversify risk (29 percent) or to secure access to credit (24 percent), said the survey.

Mobile more popular than PC for shopping

A report released by the independent mobile ad network InMobi concludes U.S. consumers prefer shopping from mobile phones to shopping from PCs.

InMobi said of the 310 million U.S. consumers, 74 million - nearly one in four - shop on mobile phones. The research, based on a survey of nearly 2,500 mobile phone users, found more U.S. shoppers, almost 49 percent, still prefer shopping in a store.

However, 35 percent of the consumers surveyed said they are now ready to shop with mobile phones. Only 16 percent of those surveyed said they preferred shopping on PCs to shopping in-store or shopping on mobile phones. This compares with 16 million mobile phone users in the U.K. who choose to shop using mobile phones.

The report notes mobile phone shopping doubled between 2010 and 2011, from $1.2 billion to $2.4 billion in the United States. The company predicts mobile shopping will soar to $9 billion by next year.

"The key finding is that mobile is going to cannibalize PC consumption," said InMobi Vice President James Lamberti. "This will have a big impact on marketers as they begin to leverage mobile in a way they aren't doing today. Marketers need to understand this and look for ways to influence this shopping behavior."

Lamberti added, "It's an exciting time for the consumer, retailer and manufacturer as mobile shopping solutions will become more intelligent and compelling to use. [It is] clear consumer acceptance has opened huge opportunities in the world of mobile advertising."

Few consumers believe PII well protected

Consumers Reaction to Online Fraud, a new survey released by ThreatMetrix and the Ponemon Institute, said 85 percent of consumers surveyed for the report said they were worried about personally identifiable information (PII) being stolen from computer records and are dissatisfied with the PII protection levels provided by online businesses

E-commerce platform solutions analyzed

A new Javelin Strategy and Research report analyzes and compares the e-commerce platform solutions offered by 11 different companies. The report identifies the key features of each firm's platform and looks at each company's pricing, market positioning and differentiation.