Credit Card Companies Mail Fewer Offers for Second Consecutive Year.Business Editors ARLINGTON HEIGHTS Arlington Heights, village (1990 pop. 75,460), Cook county, NE Ill., a residential suburb of Chicago; founded 1836, inc. 1887. Its manufactures include machinery, drugs and medical equipment, and metal fabrication. Arlington Park racetrack is there. , Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2004 As personal bankruptcies Personal bankruptcy is a procedure which, in certain jurisdictions, allows an individual to declare bankruptcy. In other jurisdictions, bankruptcies are reserved for corporations. reach record highs, card issuers change offer strategy. Synovate In January 2003, the market research companies belonging to global communications specialist Aegis Group plc came together to form a global research company, Synovate. As of August 2006 Robert Skolnick is CEO of Synovate North America, former CEO Robert Philpott is now Global Chief today reported that annual credit card mail volume for 2003 decreased by 12% compared to volume in 2002. The findings, which were compiled using Synovate's Mail Monitor(R), showed that 4.29 billion credit card offers were received by U.S. households during 2003 down from 4.89 billion in 2002, while consumer response remained low at just 0.6%. The year-on-year drop follows a record 5.01 billion offers set for mail volume in 2001. On average each month 69% of U.S. households received 4.8 offers during 2003 Vs 75% of households receiving 5.1 offers during 2002. "During 2003 typical seasonal mailing patterns went out of the window," said Andrew Davidson, Vice President of Competitive Tracking Services for Synovate's Financial Services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. Practice. "90% of credit card direct mail comes from the 10 largest card issuers and in 2003 half of those issuers cut back causing the overall decline in mail volume." In 2003, an all time record was set for personal bankruptcies and despite recent improvements to the economy, unemployment remains high. "Card issuers have reacted to this environment by mailing fewer low introductory rate offers and decreasing the frequency of mailings to lower income households," said Davidson. "At the same time," Davidson continued, "we have seen a significant increase in offers promoting rewards and cash rebates as issuers seek new ways to stand out from the clutter and acquire customers that are less likely to switch." 1.27 billion reward offers were received by U.S. households in 2003, up from 0.81 billion in 2002. Rebate rebate, partial refund of the total price paid for goods or services. In the United States, rebates were historically given by railroads to favored shippers as a return on transportation charges. card mail volume increased to 0.90 billion from 0.68 billion over the same time period. "Although volumes were down for the year, I was encouraged by our December 2003 findings," Davidson said. "Many issuers who had cut back overall in 2003 finished with a strong December and I would not be surprised if the year begins with strong mailing volumes overall." About the Company Mail Monitor(R) is a service of Synovate's Financial Services Practice, a specialized spe·cial·ize v. spe·cial·ized, spe·cial·iz·ing, spe·cial·iz·es v.intr. 1. To pursue a special activity, occupation, or field of study. 2. division of one of the world's top 10 global market research firms. The Financial Services Practice generates consumer insights that drive competitive marketing solutions in the banking, investments, insurance and payments industries. Synovate has offices across 81 cities in 46 countries that provide clients with cohesive cohesive, n the capability to cohere or stick together to form a mass. global support and a comprehensive suite of leading research solutions. The company is the market research arm of Aegis Group plc Aegis Group plc is a £1.4bn media and market research group listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: AGS). The company employs almost 14,000 staff in over 80 countries. Aegis Group's market research division is largely represented through Synovate. , the London-based global media and communications conglomerate conglomerate, in business conglomerate, corporation whose asset growth, often very rapid, comes largely through the acquisition of, or merger with, other firms whose products are largely unrelated to each other or to that of the parent company. . Synovate Americas' headquarters is in Arlington Heights, IL. More information on Synovate is available on www.synovate.com. |
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