Dive Brief:

• As retailers increasingly woo customers to sign up for store credit cards and financing, Amazon is leading the way, as 32% of customers who participated in the Ipsos Retail Survey from Vyze said they have Amazon store cards.

• Target and Macy’s came in second and third, with 30% and 24% of customers surveyed possessing these store credit cards. The percentages are even higher for Amazon and Target among millennials, with 48% of that group choosing to open an Amazon card account and 44% of customers doing the same with Target. Roughly 29% of millennials open card accounts with Costco.

• The survey also found that 62% of consumers have a store card in their wallets, and 30% have two or more. Shoppers also continue to show loyalty to retailers they have a store card with — 40% saying they are more likely to shop at that retailer again.

Dive Insight:

Brick-and-mortar retailers are probably getting tired of this storyline, but Amazon wins again. More retailers are trying to get customers to sign up for their own branded store credit cards, often during checkout, to encourage purchases, grow ticket sizes and breed loyalty. The good news is that they seem to be making progress, although Amazon has managed to make a little more progress than most. But store card sign-ups with Target, especially among millennials, is very encouraging for that retailer.

The level of millennial adoption is especially significant for Amazon and Target considering that 60% of millennials say they are more likely to shop at a specific retailer if they have the store card for that retailer.

Those young shoppers also are interested in other forms of financing as they move away from traditional credit cards. About 52% of Gen Z shoppers and nearly 60% of millennials want choice for financing large purchases that go beyond traditional credit cards. These percentages were higher than the overall survey response, which showed that 42% of overall respondents are interested in alternative financing options.

Shoppers also are increasingly aware that a variety of financing options, including store cards, are available directly through retailers. The survey found that 78% of them are aware of these retailer options, which suggests that now-ubiquitous checkout promotions are doing their job, especially considering that only 51% of shoppers were aware of these options just two years ago.

Still, the survey notes there is room for improvement, as about 56% of U.S. adults have never applied for retail financing online or in-store, including a surprising 50% of Americans who make over $100,000 a year.