PAWN SHOP MARKET ANALYSIS

Pawn Shop MarketSize and Trends

Market Dynamics:

• The global pawn shop market is expected to gain significant traction over the forecast period, owing to the easy and quick access to money at pawn shops. Money obtained by pawning the item can be used to fulfill basic requirements such as paying rents, electricity bills or for fuelling the car. For instance, according to National Pawnbrokers Association, in the U.S, according to U.S. Economic Census of 2012, there were around 6,000 pawn establishments in 2007, which increased to around 10,000 pawn establishments in 2012. Increasing need for quick access to money is expected to drive growth of the pawn shop market.
• However, stringent government regulations such as ‘USA Patriot Act’ and ‘Truth in Lending Act’ imposed on pawnbroking, in order to ensure consumer protection and to prevent money laundering incidences is expected to hinder the global pawn shop market growth.

Market Outlook:

• Players operating in the pawn shop market are focused on adopting various growth strategies such as business expansion, partnership as well as launching online platform for pawnbroking, to provide easy access to the pawn store.
• For instance, in 2014, Borro Private Finance, the U.S. and U.K.-based pawnbroker company, raised a fund of US$ 112 million from Victory Park Capital Advisors, LLC (a U.S. based investment firm). The funding allowed Borro to expand its business across the U.K. and to increase its lending capacity to US$ 2 million per asset.
• Moreover, in September 2016, Bravo Pawn Systems, a market leader in software development for pawnbroking, launched first mobile app, ‘MobilePawn’, which provides pawn services to its customers at a single click on their smartphones.