First, the credit card industry seems to be evolving into a commodity market. Product differentiation has narrowed.
Pricing is at a new low, with many introductory rates at zero percent.
And, for the past few years we've seen response rates continuously decline, regardless of mail volume fluctuations, whereas in the early 1990's responses increased when volume dropped. Also, the mergers and buyouts of the past year resulted in less duplication of mailings. The best response rates were seen among the credit-riskier segments of the population. Their interest in acquiring new cards has helped push the response rates for Standard cards above other card products. During 1999, the top ten issuers accounted for a growing proportion of total credit card offers, representing nine out of every 10 offers last year.