To weather the pandemic, Amex will need to find ways to incentivize spending without overextending resources
, when the pandemic had just begun and consumer spending was hit hardest. But that's an improvement from the 45% annual decline in billed business seen in April, indicating that as states begin to lift stay-at-home orders and retail reopens, albeit with restrictions, consumers are beginning to spend tentatively again.
Though Amex still expects a big downturn for the quarter, it could be less extreme than originally thought based on April numbers. However, travel and entertainment remains very depressed, which could impact Amex's return to growth. Though it showed slight improvement from April, T&E spending still remains down 90% annually in mid-May. For Amex, T&E is a : Many of its top cards offer travel-centric rewards and entertainment perks like dedicated concierges in order to build relationships and incur spend. But travel restrictions and large event bans have naturally hit the category, and the lasting decline — since these industries will likely be some of the last to return — could remain a drag on Amex's business in the long term. — which could point to ongoing challenges with charge-offs as the pandemic stretches on. Like other issuers, Amex rolled out robust financial support offerings for cardholders affected by the pandemic, including payment deferrals.— and though that total has decreased to 500,000 customers, the firm continues to shift staff to collections and credit work to find new ways to offer relief. Though Amex reports that two-thirds of those who have left forbearance programs are now current on their accounts, a push to redirect resources could indicate an uptick in delinquencies as the financial crisis weathers on, and finding ways to work with customers to avoid that should remain a priority for credit providers. To weather the pandemic, the firm will need to find ways to incentivize spending without overextending resources. Amex has a number of its rewards offerings to appease customers who relied on T&E categories, including discounts to incentivize paying with points, partnerships with food delivery programs for rewards, grocery points on top cards, and more. While these incentives are set to help the firm keep spending and primary card status by playing to current spending trends, they need to be balanced with the delinquencies that might arise moving forward through ongoing financial assistance programs and relief.Business Insider Intelligence analyzes the payments and commerce industry and provides in-depth analyst reports, proprietary forecasts, customizable charts, and more. >>, Business Insider Intelligence's expert email newsletter keeping you up-to-date on the people, technologies, trends, and companies shaping the future of consumerism, delivered to your inbox 6x a week. >>
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