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New U.S. Shopper Survey: Digital Delivery Is Top Consumer Preference

This Month in Retail Banking

The shift to digital continues unabated in consumer banking and with it, further disruption to the industry. That’s according to the latest Curinos U.S. Shopper Survey, which is fielded every year among consumers in the top 70 DMA markets who have recently chosen a new primary banking provider. Respondents report that their most important driver of convenience is “useful online/mobile,” a 42% increase in only three years. Accompanying the finding is the increasing preference to “complete all banking activities from the app,” which accounts for the growing importance of being “easy to reach by phone,” referring to engagement via the mobile phone app.

The survey, which was fielded in October 2022, also reveals that the importance of “branch-centric factors” continues to plummet – to only 24% of respondents, down from 50% in 2014 and 32% in 2019. (See Figure 1.)   

Figure 1:
Reported Drivers Of Convenience

Source: Curinos Customer Knowledge | 2022 Shopper Survey | 2014 (N=6,116), 2018 (N=8,582), 2019 (N=9,185), 2020 (N=10,038), 2021 (N=13,222), 2022 (N=13,179) | Q27: Please rank the 3 items that would do the most to make a bank a convenient place for your checking account? | Note: Values represent attributes ranked as #1 in convenience​

The accelerating migration to digital banking continues to underscore the need for brand differentiation. Neobanks and direct providers, through their distinctive product features and customer experiences, continue to grow market share at the expense of banks that rely on more conventional delivery channels. Their penetration of primary checking relationships now stands at 38% of the industry, up from only 21% in 2018. (See Figure 2.) As the Curinos research has shown, acquiring new-to-bank checking accounts is paramount to earning primacy and gaining market share. 

Figure 2:
Primary Checking Account By Bank Type​

Source: Curinos Customer Knowledge | 2019-2022 Shopper Survey | 2018 (N=8,582), 2019 (N=9,185), 2020 (N=10,038), 2021 (N=13,222), 2022 (N=13,179) | Base: 2022 (RP who opened in 2022 based on 2022 Shopper, 2021 (RP who opened in 2021 based on 2021 Shopper), 2020 (RP who opened in 2020 based on 2020 Shopper), *2016-2019 (RP who opened in 2016-2019 based on 2019 Shopper) Q: In which year did you open your primary checking account (the checking account you use the most today?)
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