Store Cards Could Have a New Friend in Millennials

June 14, 2024         By: Steven Anderson

It’s easy to look at the millennial market and think that it’s turning everything on its ears; online shopping over brick-and-mortar, mobile payments over cash and check, social media over phone calls and so on are all part of the millennial package. Yet a new report from Vyze and Ipsos suggests that the store card may be making a resurgence thanks to that same millennial shopper.

The Vyze / Ipsos report notes that consumers are actually much more aware of immediate retail financing than ever, with 78 percent of consumers familiar with point-of-sale (PoS) financing like store cards. In just 2015, that number was 51 percent. Given that customers increasingly want options like monthly payment plans and the quickly-returning layaway notion, that’s just a survival measure.

What’s more, it’s clear customers are ready to use these options. A store card encourages return shopping for 40 percent of respondents in the study, and among millennials, that’s 60 percent. So offering these tools means a likely direct boost to the bottom line. One major issuer of store cards, Synchrony Financial, saw a seven percent growth in total purchase volume just last quarter.

Though in the midst of this, it’s important to focus on digital. While maintaining the brick-and-mortar presence is vital going forward—not only in keeping boomers, Generation X and even Generation Z—the millennials prefer digital overwhelmingly. That preference is important to hold the biggest generation of shoppers in play for the time being.

So what does this mean for store cards? It’s obvious millennials like the options associated with store cards, which means these will be part of the picture going forward for some time. Since the store card can be used with the store app and store website—that’s pretty much a requirement for a store card—it satisfies the millennial’s demand for options and digital, while also maintaining the edifices that will be required to address Generation Z’s preferences when this generation kicks in in another 10 to 15 years or so.

It’s all about taking full advantage of today’s circumstances while also being prepared for tomorrow’s. Store cards can go a long way on both sides of the spectrum, and give everyone the kind of advantages most desired in the field.