New data from Cartera Commerce, the leading provider of card-linked marketing solutions, suggests that rewards-conscious consumers are concentrating their holiday shopping behavior and purchasing power with their favorite credit card and airline rewards programs to take advantage of card-linked offers that result in extra cash back, points and miles.

According to the data, consumers who shopped card-linked offer sites from 15 top rewards programs spent 88 percent more between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday this year than last. This was four times the growth of overall ecommerce in the same period, according to a report from comScore. Offer conversion rates on these sites increased more than 34 percent year over year, indicating greater consumer desire to reap rewards as they shop for the holidays.

“Instead of using Google to hunt for the best deals this holiday season, our data shows that rewards-conscious consumers are flocking to sites powered by their favorite miles, cash back and points programs to maximize rewards,” said Tom Beecher, president and CEO of Cartera Commerce. “As a result, we’re seeing merchants shift their loyalty and marketing initiatives to capture sales through rewards programs that shoppers already prefer. This year’s enormous growth in engagement and activity suggests that consumers and retailers are learning how to make the most of card-linked offers, and we expect this momentum to continue in 2013 and beyond.”

Cartera compared year-over-year engagement and sales data from top bank and travel rewards offer sites from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday. Highlights include:

• Total online sales generated via rewards shopping sites jumped 88 percent – more than four times the 21 percent ecommerce growth as reported by comScore
• The number of total online transactions grew by 72 percent
• Offer “click to sale” conversion rates grew by nearly 35 percent
• The average order value (AOV) of online sales linked to rewards offers was up 9 percent
• The top 10 percent of rewards collectors spent more than $1,000 online during the five-day period - up more than 20 percent

About Cartera Commerce

Cartera Commerce is the leading provider of card-linked marketing solutions that increase revenue and customer loyalty for merchants, banks, card issuers and loyalty programs. For merchants, Cartera powers OfferLink℠, the industry's largest card-linked advertising network that markets offers to more than 150 million consumers - including 65 million active linked cards - to help acquire and retain customers. For banks, card issuers and loyalty programs, Cartera provides the industry's most comprehensive card-linked offer platform that powers personalized in-store and online shopping programs to build consumer engagement, maximize card spend and create new revenue streams. Three of the top four largest financial institutions, all five largest airlines and thousands of merchant advertisers drive incremental revenue with Cartera's fully-managed, performance-based solutions. The company is headquartered in Lexington, Mass. For more information, visit www.cartera.com.

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