American Express 2011 Annual Report Download - page 12

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So why do we feel good when the environment is challenging, to say the least? We
believe in the unique characteristics of our business model: our spend-centric
focus, closed-loop network, expertise across the payments chain, premium
products, trusted brand and service excellence. These and other assets can help
us continue to outpace the competition and benefit from the ongoing global
shift away from cash and toward online and electroniccommerce.
The mantra we set in 2010–drive growth, drive eciency and deliver superior
service–will continue to be our road map. We also remain committed to the
investment priorities we identified last year to drive profitable growth for the
company well into thefuture.
These longer-term priorities, which complement our ongoing investments
in acquiring new customers and deepening relationships across our base
businesses,are:
Increase our share of online spending and improve our customers’ digital
experience
—
We’re starting from a strong position here. Based on all the data
we’ve seen, we believe that American Express leads all issuers in online payments
volume. For 2011, we conservatively estimate that our online billings totaled
$130 billion, up about 22 percent from a year ago. Simply put, we benefitted from
giving our customers more ways and reasons
to use our products and interact with us
online. As the role of e-commerce expands,
we want to be the clear go-tochoice.
Deliver greater value to merchants
—
On
average, our cardmembers spend far more
each year than the card holders of other
payment networks. We also oer an array
of services that help merchants attract new
customers, build loyalty and combat fraud.
If we generate more value in the form of
additional customers and higher spending,
and if merchants recognize it, then more of
them will want to do business with us. That’s
what we aim to do everyday.
To Our Shareholders
Investments and
Eciency
Our Transformation
The Digital
Convergence
A Challenging
Environment
Thank You
#1 IN CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
We received our fifth straight
J.D. Power and Associates
award for highest customer
satisfaction among credit
card companies in the U.S.
AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
10