Highlights:

The need to save made card-linked offers especially attractive to budget-conscious shoppers. Discounts and rewards were key drivers of consumer interest in and use of these offers.

More than half of cardholders were interested in switching to merchants providing product-specific card-linked offers. This suggests that tailored and relevant offers are an effective tool for engaging today’s shoppers.

Millions of U.S. cardholders used a card-linked offer in the year’s waning months, ultimately saving them an average of $82 each.

Card-linked offers were popular: 57% of consumers used them. Twenty-three percent of cardholders said they took advantage of these offers for all or most holiday purchases.

Cardholders using these offers were a varied group, with members of Generation Z and consumers with children the most likely to use these offers. Millennials and high-income consumers followed. Seventy-nine percent of Gen Z cardholders and 77% of consumers with children used card-linked offers this past season. Also, 74% of millennials and 64% of those annually earning more than $100,000 used the offers.

Nearly 30% of consumers using card-linked offers primarily received them from a third-party app or loyalty platform. One in 5 received the offers via email from a bank or credit card company.

Overall, 80% of users received at least some card-linked offers from third parties, such as banking apps or cash back and shopping rewards platforms, rather than merchants where they have made purchases. Thirty-percent of users received most or all offers from third parties.