Surprising Facts About American Express OptBlue
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You and your merchants may be surprised to see these facts about American Express® Card Members and how they spend at small businesses. Consider these facts as you evaluate the new OptBlue® Program.
Many American Express Card Members are high-spending, loyal customers.
You probably already think of American Express Card Members as more affluent. The stats below show that they also spend more than non-Card Members at small businesses.
- In 2014, the average purchase size on American Express Cards was higher than the average purchase size on other general purpose credit cards.(1)
- 74% of American Express Card Members report that they spend more on B2B professional services purchases at small merchants who accept American Express.(2)
- Finally, 75% of American Express Card Members report a household income of $75,000 or more.(3)
American Express has a diverse and robust suite of card products to suit customer needs.
If you think all American Express Card Members are ”affluent,” you're not quite right.
- There are 54.9 million American Express Cards in the U.S. alone.(4)
- American Express has over 50 Co-Brand Cards Worldwide.
- American Express now offers prepaid cards like Serve®, financial management cards like BlueBird®, and the newest Amex EveryDay Credit Card. These products were designed to serve a broad range of diverse customers.
American Express Card Members seek businesses that accept American Express.
Yes, customers do care about where they can use their American Express Cards.
- 67% of Card Members report they would be more likely to make a purchase when they see on the window or door that American Express is accepted.(3)
- 51% of U.S. American Express Card Members report they would be more likely to make a purchase if they see that American Express is accepted on a retail merchant's website.(2)
- 80% of American Express Card Members report they would be more likely to make a B2B professional services purchase when they see that American Express is accepted on a merchant's website.(2)
Because of this, accepting American Express makes sense for merchants of all types and sizes. It's no longer just for those businesses who cater to high earning - and high spending - consumers. By accepting American Express Cards, merchants now have a whole new way to welcome business, and get great benefits such as one customer service contact, one statement, and one deposit for all card brands.
When you're talking with merchants, make sure they understand the value of accepting American Express. They'll be able to welcome a broad range of customers, and when they let them pay the way they want, they can help keep them happy and coming back.
Are you surprised at the diversity of American Express Card Members? How about your merchants? I bet knowing these facts will help make them more open to accepting American Express.
Sources:
- Bases on a comparison of average purchase amounts on American Express Cards and Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit cards using U.S. 2014 year-end data as reported in The Nilson Report #1,057 (February 2015).
- American Express commissioned internet panel survey conducted in December 2014 - March 2015 based on purchases made in the prior 6 months. Definition of American Express Card Members: Respondents who reported that they have an American Express Card and that they used any payment method to purchase B2B professional services from a small merchant (e.g., independently owned law practices, accounting firms, educational service providers) in the prior 6 months.
- American Express commissioned internet panel survey conducted in December 2014-February 2015 based on purchases made in the 6 months prior to the survey. Definition of American Express Card Members: Respondents who reported that they have an American Express Card and that they used that card to make purchases (i.e. retail store, retail services, B2B professional services and/or healthcare) from a small merchant in the prior 6 months.
- American Express 2014 Annual Report.