The pandemic has significantly impacted the way consumers shop and search for financial service products online. Consumers are now making faster decisions, using fewer comparison sites, and are less brand oriented. Microsoft Advertising Insights explored how these developments shifted the credit card market, to produce strategic recommendations for our clients.
As a result of COVID-19, we’re seeing credit cards rebound in a “K-shaped recovery.” In other words, while some credit card categories are growing, others are remaining stagnant or even declining. For example, we’ve seen growth in credit cards relating to business (+204%), students (+136%) and cash back cards (+101%) but travel related cards have remained stagnant.
Another trend we’re seeing in the credit card industry is an uptick in non-brand advertising. In fact, we’ve found that 62% of the ad clicks in this industry are influenced by non-brand searches.
Non-brand ads also drive incremental website visits and help push consumers down the funnel. We’ve consistently seen that the best ad performance combines lower funnel media with awareness strategies. Make sure you’re reaching users early in their journey with the Microsoft Audience Network.
These are just a few of the changes we’ve seen in the credit card market recently. Download our insights to go more in depth and discover how you can best adapt your search strategy moving forward.