Mobile and Tablet Banking: Key to Customer Retention

Boston, MA – May 19, 2014 –The most recent Insight Report in Mercator Advisory Group’s latest CustomerMonitor Survey Series reveals that now, nearly half of consumers perform banking activities using their mobile phone and/or tablet, up from nearly one-third who did so in 2012. Mobile and tablet banking is growing rapidly, fast becoming a primary way that consumers prefer to conduct their banking activities and manage financial information “on the go,” a vital convenience for banking customers.

Mobile banking users, however, are reevaluating their financial institutions, as nearly one-quarter of mobile banking users responding the survey indicate they switched their primary financial institution within the past two years. Consumers, especially those who have both smartphones and tablets, are more likely than average to have opened up new accounts with financial institutions within the previous 12 months. Mobile banking users not only increasingly prefer mobile banking methods but are also more likely to use a wider variety of traditional and self-service channels as they look for financial institutions with robust and sophisticated mobile and online functionality.

These findings are based on responses from a sample of 3,001 U.S. adults with banking relationships collected in the annual online Banking and Channels survey, conducted in November 2013.

Mobile and Tablet Banking: Key to Customer Retention, the latest report from Mercator Advisory Group’s Primary Data Service, highlights the rising use of mobile and tablet usage and the demographics of mobile users and those engaged in mobile banking; consumer confidence in the security and reliability of mobile phones for banking; methods, preference, and frequency of communication with financial institutions; banking activities performed by smartphone, tablet, or computer; and mobile banking’s impact on branch visitation.

“Mobile and tablet banking use is rising rapidly and becoming a preferred banking method as consumers take advantage of multiple channels for their banking activities. Mobile banking users are most likely to reevaluate their financial institutions and open new accounts. Financial institutions need to continue to improve the usability and functionality for mobile and tablet banking or consumers will take their business elsewhere,” states Karen Augustine, manager of Primary Data Services including the CustomerMonitor Survey Series at Mercator Advisory Group and author of the report.

The report is 66 pages long and contains 30 exhibits

Members of Mercator Advisory Group CustomerMonitor Survey Series Service have access to this report as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access and other membership benefits.