Newly-released research from TransUnion CIBIL’s Industry Insights Report found that demand for retail(i) credit products has steadily increased in recent months following the initial shock from the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year.
Although year-on-year (YoY) growth across key metrics has yet to reach pre-pandemic levels, there has been positive momentum for credit demand. In November 2020, retail credit demand (as measured by inquiry volumes) was back to 93% of the levels observed in November 2019, and was significantly up from the low levels observed during the early months of the pandemic.
Abhay Kelkar, vice president of research and consulting for TransUnion CIBIL, explains: “The global economy is still suffering from the impact of the pandemic. As businesses and consumers adapt to the challenging situation, we see positive momentum in demand for credit since the initial lockdown earlier in the year. It is encouraging to see the renewed demand for credit, as that signals that consumer confidence and the willingness to borrow to fund larger-ticket purchases are on the rise.”
Figure 1: Demand for retail credit has rebounded since the initial lockdown impact
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