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Credit Card Companies Decrease Direct Mail, Spend Less on Acquisition

The volume of direct mail from credit card companies has been falling steadily since the third quarter of 2007, according to Mintel Comperemedia. The credit crunch has forced companies to pull back on efforts to acquire new customers, the report shows.

Such acquisition mail volume fell about 8 percent in Q2 08 from the first quarter; it is down about 17 percent from the third quarter of 2007, when the total number was at 1.86 billion pieces, writes Brandweek.

But despite the slip, credit card company spending on measured media like TV and print soared 22 percent in the first five months of 2008, over the same period in 2007. The Direct Marketing Association predicts that the category’s direct mail spend will grow by 3.4 percent per year through 2012.