In addition, CO-OP found that Amazon Prime Day 2020 actually had a more significant impact with debit transactions, which saw a 79 percent increase from the day prior (I.e., October 12). For credit transactions, Amazon Prime Day 2020 only saw a 33 percent increase from the day prior.
“This is meaningful in the payments space because it demonstrates credit cardholders are leveraging their credit cards for their daily Amazon transactions in ‘essential’ categories,” said Beth Phillips, Director, Strategic Portfolio Growth for CO-OP. “Meanwhile, debit cardholders demonstrated a higher response rate during the big event, most likely for larger or wish list items.”
An additional way of looking at Amazon Prime Day 2020 results is to examine bookstore credit card transactions, the largest Amazon merchant category, comparing October 13-14, 2019, to October 13-14, 2020. CO-OP found transactions up 77 percent. “This means it is more important than ever for credit unions to educate their cardholders on how to place your card in their accounts at their online retailers, then remind and incentivize them that your card should be their preferred card,” said Phillips.
To help credit union executives, CO-OP Financial Services commissioned Filene Research Institute to study the socioeconomic and technological changes expected to have the greatest impact on consumer behaviors and preferences. The study, titled “Payments, Personal Financial Management and Prospects for Credit Union Growth” is now available here.
“The increase in ecommerce totals throughout the pandemic supports our belief that enabling digital payments for members is the path to growth,” said Todd Clark, President/CEO, CO-OP Financial Services. “Encouraging members to have your card top-of-wallet for events like Amazon Prime Day and Cyber Monday leads to deeper penetration, usage and engagement with your credit union.
“Even if you weren’t able to put together a campaign ahead of Amazon Prime Day, we anticipate that given the close proximity between Amazon Prime Day and the holidays, this year we’re going to see a prolonged spending boost that will last over the next several weeks,” said Clark.
To learn more about how CO-OP’s SmartGrowth team can help credit unions with their member card use campaigns, visit SmartGrowth Consultation here.