New Report Analyses the Market for Private-Label Credit Cards in the U.S.

Jan. 29, 2009 - PRLog -- ReportBuyer.com, the online destination for business intelligence for major industry sectors, has added a new report analysing the market for private-label credit cards in the U.S.

“Private-Label Credit Cards in the U.S., 6th Edition”, which is available at http://www.reportbuyer.com/go/PKF00144 examines the complex relationship between banks, which are severely restricting their consumer lending; retailers, which want to get their cards into as many hands as possible; and American consumers, who may have changed their shopping habits forever - or until the latter part of 2009.

The report shows that market trends and features that continue to be, or have become, major forces in the private-label segment of the credit card market include: The acquisition blitz: Third-party issuers have been acquiring retailers' card portfolios, and at the beginning of 2008, only four major retailer holdouts remained.

Meanwhile, authors of the report note that with practically no major portfolios left to acquire, issuers are trying to grow their businesses by focusing on customer relations management. In fact, this strategy is highly recommended by analysts in a recessionary environment. However, many retailers are reportedly dissatisfied by issuers' services in this arena and may even seek to reclaim their card assets.

Furthermore, exploding debit card use has hurt the credit card industry in general, and in an uncertain economy consumers may be even more reluctant to incur unnecessary debt from discretionary purchases like clothing. However, retailers (Wal-Mart, supermarkets) selling everyday items like groceries may feel the squeeze a bit less.

The report “Private-Label Credit Cards in the U.S., 6th Edition” is available from Report Buyer at:
http://www.reportbuyer.com/banking_finance/debit_credit_c...

ReportBuyer.com Product ID: PKF00144

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ReportBuyer.com (http://www.reportbuyer.com/banking_finance/debit_credit_c...) is a UK-based independent online store supplying business information. The website now carries over 90,000 business information products, including market reports, studies, books and events. Subscribers receive a free monthly newsletter and email alerts on new titles in their areas of interest.