From Gen Z to Boomers, each of these groups has a unique set of generational experiences that may influence their approach to financial services and make their behavior unique. While many Baby Boomers have remained in the workforce and Generation X members have entered mid-life, Millennials have established themselves in the workplace and Generation Z are at the very beginning of their financial life cycle, making them a key target for establishing new financial relationships.

This new survey examines the banking behavior of these generations including their channel usage for banking activities, information-gathering when shopping for financial services, and when applying. The survey assesses how the decision-making process may differ among the groups. Holistic approaches to financial wellness may have particular appeal to certain segments.

It is essential for providers to have an understanding of each of these groups in developing and refining their generational marketing strategies and programs.  This study will be based on an online survey of 1,500 consumers ages 16 to 76.

Customer engagement is an important factor for consumers when deciding to become and remain customers of a financial institution or provider. Aspects and features that may contribute to strong customer engagement include customer service, rewards programs, financial education and advice, personalization tactics, and channel options.

While holistic approaches to financial wellness related to life stage needs and goals may have particular appeal, it is also important to offer reward programs to keep customers using an institution’s products and services. Deepening customer engagement demands carries this a step further placing a higher priority on employing tactics such as higher earning categories, personalized options for reward redemption, and even experiential rewards. Financial providers, although implementing their own personalization initiatives, still have much potential to explore in this area.

Understanding the factors underlying effective customer engagement is essential in developing and implementing successful acquisition and retention strategies. This study will feature 2,000 online interviews with consumer financial decision-makers age 18 or older.

As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, financial institutions had to quickly adapt to shift customer activity to socially-distanced or remote banking options. Trends that were already transforming branches, online banking, mobile banking, and ATMs were significantly accelerated. Now that pandemic-related restrictions are easing, FIs must adapt to the “new normal.”

As financial service providers wrestle with emerging realities, they must regularly examine consumers’ perspectives for feedback and insight. Will consumers stick with self-service channels they adopted during the pandemic, or will they expect familiar, in-person interactions to be readily available at branches? Will enhanced interaction capabilities, like text-based chat and video chat, prompt customers to use online/mobile banking methods for a wider variety of financial activities?

This project will probe evolving consumer perspectives and attitudes through a survey of 2,000 financial decision makers ages 18 or older.

Despite the surge in usage of ever-increasing digital channel options, branches have remained an important element of the financial-services delivery system. However, the COVID-19 pandemic may have permanently altered branch usage. Will branches continue to be the cornerstone of account relationships and the face of financial institutions?

Amid these pressures, branches are evolving in a variety of ways. Across the country, branch locations are closing and some financial-services providers are turning to smaller facilities that rely more on self-service devices and less on personnel.

As branch strategies continue to unfold, it is imperative to track and analyze consumer perspectives, behaviors, and reactions to branch innovations. This fourth-annual edition of the Consumer Branch Monitor will help financial institutions navigate this rapidly evolving environment. The survey will feature 2,000 online interviews with consumer financial decision-makers age 18 or older.

The credit card market has always been ready and able to meet new challenges in the marketplace. As consumers are once again spending, credit card issuers are pulling out all the stops and reinventing themselves with new rewards, travel points, apps, and features designed to entice consumers to switch cards or obtain new additional cards.

Competition in the form of Fintechs and neo-banks is intense. As a result, brand awareness is receiving increased attention, particularly among the leading major card issuers. Additionally, BNPL services and debit cards continue to impact credit card usage.

This study examines recent developments in the credit card market and their impact on card acquisition and retention strategies. The study includes a survey of 2,000 consumer financial decision-makers age 18 or older.

Keeping customers’ financial information secure is a critical task that is becoming more difficult in an evolving technology environment in which fraudsters and financial institutions attempt to stay one step ahead of the other. Developing and implementing new security measures and techniques to safeguard customers’ personal and financial information is now an ongoing process at financial institutions.

Enhancements many providers have implemented include two-factor authentication, one-time access codes sent via text or email, and even biometric identification methods. Added to this mix are services such as credit report monitoring, fraud alerts, and identity theft insurance. Strong and transparent privacy policies are also an important element in this security-conscious environment, particularly in an era of open banking.

A primary goal of this study is to assess the consumer perspective on these important issues in order to help financial institutions to optimize their privacy and security strategies for the future. A national online survey will be conducted with 2,000 consumer financial decision-makers age 18 or older.

For more than two decades, the annual Home Equity Lending Monitor has observed and assessed trends and developments in the home equity credit market. This 23rd edition features a national online survey of 2,500 homeowners–composed of 1,125 holders of home equity lines or loans, 375 home equity credit prospects, and 1,000 rejecters.

Primary to the study each year is gauging the size of the overall market–as defined by current holders and prospects. With promising potential market growth being indicated in recent waves of the monitor, examining the impact of rising interest rates and current home value trends is more important than ever. The ongoing effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on market potential will be of interest for some time to come. Reactivation strategies and tactics targeted at ex-holders of equity credit–an important market segment given their experience with the product–have always been an important focus of the study. Rejecters are generally the largest customer group, representing a significant pool of potential home equity credit prospects, and are an important segment for conversion strategies.

Other aspects of activity examined in each wave include activation and utilization of HELOCs, the purposes for which loans and lines are obtained and used, important factors in choosing providers and products, pricing issues, and channel preferences for marketing, acquisition, and customer service.

The adoption of mobile banking and payment services by small businesses is beginning to resemble patterns in the consumer market, although significant potential remains for expansion and increased activity. In our prior research, we found that significant numbers of small businesses are using mobile services such as business-to-business (B2B) payments, mobile deposit, and mobile point-of-sale (POS) payments, and small business users tend to widely value these services.

In this 2023 study, we will examine current mobile banking activity among small businesses as an important step in assessing the overall position and potential of the mobile banking channel. Behaviors captured will include frequency of banking channel usage, activities performed, preferences for apps vs. websites, and usage of mobile account notifications or alerts. The role of mobile banking as a relationship-strengthening and retention tool that can enhance customer value over time is a key issue. Also assessed is the challenge of nontraditional and fintech players–such as Square and PayPal–that largely operate on a mobile platform for payment processing and are now competing for a wider share of small business banking services.

A national online survey will be conducted with 600 owners and executives of small businesses with annual sales of $50K to $5 million in industries including manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and services.

Gaining a competitive edge in the consumer-payments space has never been more challenging. Consumers’ payment habits have continually evolved, and pandemic conditions prompted an upsurge in the adoption of digital payment methods. Technological innovations have enabled contactless payments, voice payments, and payments via mobile and wearable devices. Nonbank organizations are shouldering their way into the crowded payments market, and cryptocurrency payment gateways threaten to nibble at market share and reset consumer expectations.

To be savvy players in the dynamic payments space, financial institutions and other service providers must diligently evaluate consumers’ perspectives and attitudes. Will consumers revert to familiar pre-pandemic payment behaviors, or will they stick with new habits formed during lockdowns and strict social distancing? How much do they value current service relationships and the unique resources that traditional payment-service providers possess? How likely are consumers of various life stages to shift wallet share to emerging payment methods?

All of these issues and more will be examined in this study which will include a national online survey of 2,000 consumers ages 18 or older.

In many ways, obtaining credit has never been easier for consumers. They have a vast amount of information sources available for comparing credit products and providers. On the other side of the coin, the consumer credit and lending space has never been more challenging for service providers.

It is essential for providers of consumer credit services to examine consumers’ attitudes, needs, and expectations in order to maintain and acquire customer relationships. How can lenders best position their products to stand out in a crowded, ever-evolving field? What qualities resonate with consumers when they are searching for a lender? What factors most heavily influence their choice of credit products? How likely are they to consider unfamiliar, alternative options if they feel traditional lenders, like credit card providers, are not meeting their needs? How can lenders best enhance and smooth out the credit shopping and application experience?

This study will delve into consumers’ current and anticipated credit activity and the criteria by which they evaluate and select credit providers and products. The study will feature 2,000 online interviews with consumers ages 18 and older.

In a recent MarketCast study, where we examined the issue of defining the primary financial institution, it was found that a key to primary status was the checking account. For a number of years, checking accounts were ho-hum with little product innovation. Now, digital checking accounts are offering a host of innovative features which can be key selection factors when consumers are shopping for checking accounts.

One of the most important aspects of the checking account is its role as a gateway to financial relationships. Even with all the attention on the various types of programs and strategies, relationship fragmentation is an issue as consumers’ financial needs become more complex and move beyond the checking account relationship.

With strong online and nonbank competition, more and more organizations seek to be checking account providers. These competitors offer a wide menu of innovative and creative checking offerings. This study evaluates the digital checking account relationship and opportunities to expand and enhance these relationships, including a survey of 1,500 consumer financial decision-makers age 18 or older.

The small business card market is strong and offers significant revenue opportunities. Small businesses use both business and personal cards for a variety of purposes. This market is not necessarily driven by the use of cards for credit but rather for business purchasing and travel-related activities.

Because of this, many of the strategies employed by small business card issuers are borrowed from the consumer card market. For example, reward programs are essential in order to compete in the market. In addition, small business card programs can involve employees of the business, making account management tools and apps a necessity. Premium and prestige cards can provide significant fee revenue opportunities, particularly those that offer attractive travel-related rewards and features. Beyond card usage by the small business itself, there are opportunities in the area of card acceptance by small businesses at the point of sale and online.

In this study, we will evaluate the small business card market from the small business owner’s perspective. A national online survey will be conducted with 600 owners and executives of small businesses with annual sales of $50K to $5 million in industries including manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and services.

From e-mail to Facebook to TikTok, financial services marketers have a vast array of exciting and interesting digital channels to use to market their products and services. With consumers largely receptive to receiving emails from their financial services providers, institutions are now leveraging social media channels, including text, chat, and AI, in order to target this immense audience largely comprised of younger generations.

These innovative channels require financial marketers to move beyond traditional print media and learn to harness video and audio content. The traditional ways of marketing financial services are gone, with innovative digital channels carving the path to offer challenging new opportunities.

This study will examine the consumer response to digital marketing channels and features a national online survey of 1,500 consumer financial decision-makers age 18 or older.