Products

EMARKETER delivers leading-edge research to clients in a variety of forms, including full-length reports and data visualizations to equip you with actionable takeaways for better business decisions.
PRO+
New data sets, deeper insights, and flexible data visualizations.
Learn More
Reports
In-depth analysis, benchmarks and shorter spotlights on digital trends.
Learn More
Forecasts
Interactive projections with 10k+ metrics on market trends, & consumer behavior.
Learn More
Charts
Proprietary data and over 3,000 third-party sources about the most important topics.
Learn More
Industry KPIs
Industry benchmarks for the most important KPIs in digital marketing, advertising, retail and ecommerce.
Learn More
Briefings
Client-only email newsletters with analysis and takeaways from the daily news.
Learn More
Analyst Access Program
Exclusive time with the thought leaders who craft our research.
Learn More

About EMARKETER

Our goal is to unlock digital opportunities for our clients with the world’s most trusted forecasts, analysis, and benchmarks. Spanning five core coverage areas and dozens of industries, our research on digital transformation is exhaustive.
Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Advertising & Sponsorship Opportunities
Reach an engaged audience of decision-makers.
Learn More
Events
Browse our upcoming and past events, recent podcasts, and other featured resources.
Learn More
Podcasts
Tune in to EMARKETER's daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts.
Learn More

Bread Financial rounds out product suite with general-purpose credit card

The news: Bread Financial (formerly Alliance Data Systems) launched the Bread Cashback American Express credit card, which offers unlimited 2% cash back and zero annual fees or foreign transaction fees, per a press release. The card’s benefits also include zero fraud liability, identity theft insurance, and Amex lifestyle perks like dining and entertainment discounts.

The bigger picture: Bread Financial is repositioning itself as a tech-forward and consumer-focused brand.

  • Bread Financial rebranded in March, taking up the name of the buy now, pay later (BNPL) startup it acquired in 2020 for $450 million.
  • The name change emphasizes the brand’s ties to BNPL, which is attracting consumers despite regulatory scrutiny: The number of US BNPL users is expected to grow 31.4% year over year in 2022 and hit 59.3 million, per Insider Intelligence forecasts.

And the new card highlights Bread Financial’s push into general-purpose cards. Bread Financial is one of the top private-label issuers, so moving into general-purpose cards might indicate a desire to diversify its offerings. General-purpose cards cater to a wider consumer market than co-brand and private-label cards, which lets them rake in higher volume in comparison.

Can it succeed? While the Bread Cashback Amex card offers fewer bells and whistles than other general-purpose cards, it might be attractive for consumers who desire a straightforward card with key security perks.

The card’s uncomplicated rewards structure is a plus.

  • Rewards are a major customer acquisition and retention driver for issuers—but 29% of US adults said they find reward programs confusing, per December 2020 Ipsos data. Offering unlimited 2% cash back with no caps or categories to manage takes the hassle out of rewards redemption, which might encourage adoption.
  • And the card’s 2% cash-back rate helps it stand out from other flat-rate cash-back cards on the market, many of which offer 1.5% cashback.

Consumers like security benefits—and BNPL.

  • Offering purchase protection, zero fraud liability, emergency assistance, and identity theft insurance can play into in-demand card features: Consumers ranked security and control as the second-most-important feature category in our 2021 US Cash-Back Credit Card Emerging Features Benchmark report.
  • If Bread Financial later integrates BNPL into the card, it would become even more compelling, especially for younger consumers: 35.4% of Gen Zers and 32.7% of millennials use BNPL, per our forecasts.