How Citibank leverages its online card service to promote e-shopping

Citibank, one of the nation`s largest credit card issuers, is using its card web site to promote Internet shopping to its cardholders. About 30% of Citibank cardholders are registered to view their account information and pay their credit card bills online. Now when they visit their card web site, they will receive promotions that encourage them to shop at selected online retailers.

The promotions will be tailored to fit individual cardholder`s demographic profiles. Citibank developed the capability to make targeted offerings last year but has only ramped up the program this year, says Amy Radin, executive vice president for Citi Card e-business. The number of personal offerings made on those web sites is up 300% in 2004 from what was offered in 2003, Radin says.

Meanwhile, Citibank is working hard to make sure any promotions about using its card to shop online are consistent with what it is communicating about its card in the offline world. “We’re trying to do a better job when we talk to customers, making sure that we integrate our messages,” Radin says. “We want a mention of online shopping to be integrated into all the card communications we send out.”