Private Label Credit Cards in the U.S., 7th Edition

Interesting times are ahead, according to the Packaged Facts report, Private Label Credit Cards in the U.S., 7th Edition. As America continues to struggle with an economy in hyper-flux, the private label card industry has stabilized the free-fall seen in the 2007-2010 period, setting the stage for future growth. With essentially all portfolios now being managed by third parties, improved credit quality and declining charge-offs, and indicators that consumer retail sales are picking up, issuers and retailers are focusing on their respective strengths moving forward.

There will still be hiccups in a return to growth but Packaged Facts forecasts receivables for private label card programs to reach $152 billion by 2015. While not to the levels seen pre-recession of $156 billion in 2007, the market should be cautiously optimistic. The future will still see many challenges but hopefully the good kind—such as how to integrate mobile technologies in to private label programs.

Aside from tracking receivables on an annual basis, to put the market in better context, several new metrics have been included to Private Label Credit Cards in the U.S., 7th Edition. These include:

• U.S. General Purpose and Private Label Card Purchase Volumes and Share of Total General-Purpose Credit and Debit Card Purchase Volume

• U.S. Private Label Card Usage Among U.S. Adults and Share of Total Credit Usage in the Past 12 Months

• Average Amount Spent per U.S. Adult on Private Label Cards in the Past 12 Months

• Annual U.S. Private Label Card End-of-Period Receivables and Consumer Revolving Credit Outstanding and Share of Total Consumer Revolving Credit Outstanding

• U.S. Private Label Card Purchase Volume and Receivables on Cards by Third-Party Issuers and In-house Issuers by Share of Total Private Label Purchase Volume

• Plus all new extended year-over-year coverage of key players’ individual receivables, retailers most important to the private label credit card market, and a discussion of top trends emerging in a digital marketplace, such as customer service in a YouTube world and the emerging mobile payment technologies.

This Packaged Facts report presents data and analysis on the private label retail card industry in the United States for the 2006-2010 period with forecasts through 2015. The report analyzes the size and growth of the market using several key metrics including purchase volume and receivables, as well as covering trends and factors that affect the industry. Included is an analysis of the retail sector with particular focus on segments within which private label card programs are most used. In addition, competitive activity among issuers is presented and key competitors are profiled. Also included is an extensive analysis of consumer preferences, usage and demographics for various private label card types and programs.

Methodology

These report data were obtained from various public and private sources including government sources, trade associations and publications, business journals, company literature, investment reports and interviews of industry players. For instances where data was unavailable for certain metrics, Packaged Facts either estimated figures or presented a shorter period.

The market for private label cards was derived primarily from an analysis of leading private label card issuers including banks, financial service firms and retailers. Primary sources included corporate SEC filings and supplemental reports on a quarterly and annual basis. Other major sources for market and supporting data included The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the regional reserve banks, The U.S. Census Bureau, The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, The U.S. Department of Labor, and Experian Simmons Market Research Bureau.