Credit Card Rewards Stir Shopping Frenzy, Mintel Says
Credit card companies are sending a significant amount of holiday mail to current customers offering special incentives to boost holiday revenues, according to data released yesterday by Comperemedia, a Chicago-based direct mail monitoring system.More than 3.2 million direct mail campaigns regarding holiday credit card rewards and incentives were sent to consumers from September to November, according to Comperemedia, which is a product of the Mintel International Group.
"In the early fall, we started seeing the holiday card rewards trickle in to get customers in the shopping spirit," Reagan Shea, regional director at Comperemedia, said in a statement. "Retailers have seen sales continue to build over the last few years, and that has given credit card companies increased opportunity to persuade shoppers with great new incentives."
Discover Card, for example, has several regional and national promotions running to increase consumer sales, Comperemedia said. Regionally focused programs give cardholders a $20 Discover gift card if they make $200 in purchases at participating malls through Jan. 1. The national promotion gives cardholders the opportunity to shop online for a 5 percent "Cashback Bonus" through Dec. 31 on up to $500 in purchases (part of their periodic additional Cashback incentives.)
MBNA America Bank also has a sweepstakes where cardholders can enter to win either one $250,000 prize or one of 50,000 $25 Visa statement credits.
Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
