American Consumers Face Financial Information Overload

New Mintel Report Observes That Consumers Feel Confused By Downpour of Financial MessagingChicago (April 26, 2006)- According to a recent Mintel report on consumer behavior in financial services, consumers are increasingly inundated by offerings from financial institutions. The availability of diverse options provides consumers with more choices, but it also presents the potential for overload. For instance, last year consumers received more than 21.5 billion direct mail offers promoting financial services according to Mintel Comperemedia, a competitive intelligence service that analyzes direct mail and print media. This is a 20 percent jump from 2004, when consumers received more than 17.9 billion direct mail acquisition offers promoting banking, credit cards, insurance, investment, and mortgage and loan programs. ” Consumers are overloaded with financial services messages, ” said Susan Menke, senior financial services analyst for Mintel. ” Consumers love choices, but they don’t understand what they are being offered. There are simply too many campaigns, and many campaign messages are too complex. ”