TD Bank is extending its credit card program with Nordstrom, serving as the exclusive issuer of the luxury retailer’s Visa and private label cards.
“We partner with Nordstrom at every level, collaborating closely with leadership while providing tailored support for store teams,” David Swift, who heads TD Bank’s credit card partnerships programs, said in a Wednesday (Nov. 23) news release.
“We have navigated an unprecedented retail environment together and we are excited to continue our work driving strong customer engagement.”
The news came soon after Nordstrom released quarterly earnings figures showing a decline in sales at its Nordstrom Rack stores, driven by lower-income shoppers — who make up the offshoot’s customer base — cutting back on spending.
As PYMNTS reported earlier this month, Nordstrom is one of several retail brands that have reported lower- and middle-income households cutting back on non-essential spending ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Our research has found that nearly everyone, regardless of their financial lifestyle, is still paying for food and gas, but only 25% of the people we surveyed purchased toys, games or hobbies.
“Those categories are, of course, the most discretionary of purchases, and the easiest to throttle back,” we wrote. “The strikingly similar pattern across different income levels show an unwillingness, or inability, to spend money on these products.”
But if those consumers aren’t willing or able to spend, they may try to finance their holiday purchases. “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report: Holiday Shopping Edition,” a PYMNTS and LendingClub collaboration, found that nearly 40% of Americans said they will finance the holidays, which will squeeze already tight consumer credit.
Our study found that 37% of shoppers plan to use financing — things like credit cards, personal loans or buy now, pay later (BNPL) options — for one or more of their holiday purchases this year, a slight increase from the 34% who used financing in 2021.
The study also showed that the likelihood of these shoppers turning to financing increases depending on their level of financial distress.