Mobile Steals the Spotlight of the Banking Industry

What is the one thing most consumers can’t leave their house without? No, not their keys, wallet, or watch. In today’s day and age, mobile phones — and smartphones in particular — have become the must-have accessory, with most consumers wanting these devices by their side 24/7.

In fact, in a recent study conducted by Braun Research, almost all survey respondents valued their mobile phones significantly more than television or coffee and 80% of them would give up alcohol or chocolate to regain access to their phone!

Ease of data and information accessibility has triggered increased popularity and use of smartphones, with eMarketer estimating there will be 2.7 billion smartphone users worldwide by 2018, a 93% increase from 2013.

What first started as a device to simply call and text others has turned into something most people can’t live without, completing almost every daily task with it or consulting it for answers or help.

One mobile activity in particular that has stolen the spotlight in the past few years is mobile banking. Consumers have the ability to manage their banking needs on-the-go at the touch of a button, replacing a task that used to be more manual and tedious.

In our recent infographic, The Skai Industry Spotlight: Financial Services – Banking, we share how mobile is breaking the bank with the help of its accomplices (desktop & tablet) and how our partners in crime (search & social) are impacting global banking trends.

By 2016, mobile banking will grow 300%, becoming a dominating activity within the banking industry. As you can see in the chart below, consumers are displaying heavy intent for banking-related tasks on their smartphone devices with the most popular being looking up branch locations, researching branch hours, and calling customer service.

Not only are consumers completing these banking-related tasks on their mobile devices, but 45%+ of them are continuing later on another device. When switching devices, 63% of consumers return to search, thus reiterating the importance of cross-channel paid search coverage.

In terms of geographical insights, consumers across every region are hopping on the mobile-banking bandwagon. In Canada specifically, in a little over 1 year, mobile banking reached the same level of penetration as online banking did after 4 years. Similarly, in the Netherlands, mobile banking is seeing high rates of usage with 57% of 18- to 24-year olds reporting frequent use. China reported use of mobile banking nearly doubling between 2012 and 2013, perhaps the most staggering growth among all regions.

As within many other aspects of consumers’ lives, mobile has captured the banking audience, becoming an integral part of the banking process. Creating a seamless cross-channel banking experience is imperative to success and pairing this with consistent messaging and touchpoints across search and social will lead to overall success.

Visit www.Kenshoo.com/Banking-Spotlight to view the full infographic and cash-in on these cross-device banking search and social trends. And keep a lookout for more vertical-specific infographics in the future!