Pawn Shops NAICS 522299

May 28, 2025 - US Pawn Shop Giant Expands Globally

• US-based pawn shop owner FirstCash is rapidly solidifying its place as a global industry player with its planned $340 million acquisition of the publicly-traded H&T Group PLC representing a big shift into the UK market. FirstCash was already a dominant player in the US and Latin American markets, with 3,000 locations and 20,000 employees. H&T is a well-known brand in the UK dating back to its founding in 1890. The chain has almost 300 pawn stores throughout England and specializes in high-end new and previously owned jewelry and watches. The deal will make FirstCash the largest publicly-traded pawn shop company in all of its markets and open up growth opportunities for further expansion in Europe. The $3.4 billion company has enjoyed robust growth over the past several years not only in pawn shop retailing (seven consecutive quarters of double-digit same store growth) but in no-credit payment and loan activities.
• US consumers owed $17.57 trillion in debt as of Q3 2024, per credit agency Experian, a 2.4% increase from the same period in 2023. While the debt is lower than it has been since 2022, digging deeper into the data reveals some unwelcome trends. Second mortgages and credit card debt - lending areas which typically deal with customers in financial straits and have high interest rates - rose the most in 2023-2024; 9.7% and 8.6%, respectively. Credit card debt alone averages out at about $10,000 per American family, according to consumer finance site WalletHub, and averages a 22% annual percentage rate. The biggest drop in debt came from student loads (-16.8%) due largely to loan forgiveness programs under President Biden. When Experian looked at debt by generation, Gen Z had the most (30%) while Gen X had the least (1.5%).

• The spot price of gold increased from about $1,800 per ounce in October 2023 to over $2,690 in early mid January 2025, a 49% increase. The spot price of gold hit an all-time high of $2,788.54 on October 30, 2024. A substantial portion of most pawn shops’ loans are secured by gold jewelry. Many shops also buy gold jewelry when gold prices are high and resell it for scrap value. Significant decreases in the price of gold can result in decreases in merchandising sales margins, inventory valuations, the value of collateral securing outstanding pawn loans, and the balance on pawn loans secured by gold jewelry.
• Personal income, an indicator of demand for pawn shop loans, increased 5.61% year over year and 0.2% month over month in August, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. International, secondary market, and all other nondepository credit intermediation industry employment decreased slightly during the first 10 months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pawn shops sales are forecast to increase at a 3.59% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.