How do customers want their experiences to be managed within retail banks…
To understand how Qudini can help our banking clients at this important time, we sought to understand which of our key Retail Choreography tools customers wanted to see within retail banks to better manage their experience. So we surveyed customer opinions on:
- Virtual Queuing Systems: To manage store capacity and to enable customers to queue virtually using their phone or through a host with a tablet.
- Appointment Scheduling Software: To enable customers to schedule branch visits and in-person service or virtual service 24/7 from any channel.
How do customers want their experiences to be managed within retail banks…
Customer priorities of these tools specific to retail banks were as follows:
For Millennial and GenZ customers:
1. Virtual queuing systems (25%)
2. Store appointments (25%)
3. Virtual appointments (25%)
For Baby Boomer customers:
1. Branch appointments (30%)
2. Virtual appointments (25%)
3. Virtual queuing systems (21%)
Overall, consumers earning between £50k and £100k where the most likely to want Retail Choreography solutions from retail banks.
Female consumers were more interested in each solution than male consumers. This suggests that there’s an even greater business case for investing in these in-store experience tools to drive sales across female consumer groups.
When asked why customers would find virtual queuing and appointment booking software useful within retail branches during the pandemic, it was clear that most customers felt the solutions could alleviate their health concerns, alongside their concerns around wasted time, poor weather conditions, lack of information and fair process.
What impact would using these solutions have on customer spend, advocacy and loyalty at retail banks?
The survey responses also indicate that banks who use any of these solutions to choreograph their customers’ experience stand to gain significantly through improved revenues and brand relationships across channels.
This is particularly prevalent amongst Millennial and GenZ customers where an average of 77% state that the solutions would positively impact their interactions with retailers in one or more of the following ways:
- 17% would be more likely to buy something in-branch – shows that retail banks can increase their overall revenues by using these Retail Choreography tools.
- 22% would be more likely to visit the branch in the first place and 19% would be more likely to choose the bank over their competitors – shows that all these solutions can help retail banks to stand out in the market and to drive and retain store footfall.
- 25% would feel safer and happier and 22% would think better of the bank – demonstrates that these solutions can help brands to improve their relationships and relevance amongst younger customers.
- 20% would be more likely to tell their friends about the bank – shows that all the solutions can help retail banks to improve customer advocacy amongst almost a fifth of their customers.
Could Covid-19 be a catalyst for a new era of omni-channel retail banks?
Our survey found that Millennial and GenZ customers are 3-4 times more likely to find Retail Choreography tools useful within retail banks.
When compared with Baby Boomers across all types of retail stores, these younger generations also report that if a retailer used such tools to manage their experience, they would be:
- 2 times more likely to buy something in a store.
- 2.4 times more likely to buy something online.
- 1.5 times more likely to have some kind of positive impact.
All this confirms what we all instinctively know to be true – Millennial and GenZ customers want retailers to use digital tools to improve their experience, and they will be driven to spend more and to engage more across a retailer’s entire omni-channel offering in return.
The significantly greater interest in Retail Choreography tools from younger generations suggests they may have wanted these kinds of tools all along and that Covid-19 will prove to be a catalyst for a new era of omni-channel retailing as retailers realise the powerful business case benefits behind offering such tools.
To further add to the business case benefit of using Retail Choreography solutions within retail banks and the conclusion that Covid will prove to be a catalyst for a new era of omni-channel retailing where queues are eliminated and in-store or virtual appointments become the norm.
The survey insights showed the powerful business case benefits for Retail Choreography tools within retail banks
Our survey also showed that, when compared with their lower household income peers, higher household income groups were 1.6 times more likely to be driven to buy something as a result of a retailer using these tools.
21% said they were more likely to make an in-store purchase and 19% were more likely to shop with the retailer online, compared with 12.5% of those from lower household income groups.
Overall, our survey shows that a long wait time is more likely to deter younger generations and those from higher household income groups from visiting stores or returning in the future. To combat this, the insights show that Retail Choreography tools offer a powerful antidote, as these same demographics are also the most likely to be driven to purchase in-store and online across a retailer’s channels, and the most likely to return again as a result of a retailer’s use of digital tools to choreograph their experience.
How long customers are prepared to wait for service within retail banks…
When asked how long customers are willing to wait in retail banks, we found that:
17% will only tolerate a wait of up to 3 minutes. 21% will wait between 3-7 minutes and 25% will be willing to wait between 8 and 10 minutes. In total, this means that more than half of retail bank customers (63%) will only wait up to 10 minutes for service.
These insights demonstrate that the wait time does not need to be long before significant revenues can be lost.
Interestingly, despite being more likely to walkout without buying anything and less likely to return to the branch if they are forced to wait, Millennial and GenZ customers have a higher mean wait time threshold than older generations when it comes to waiting in queues at branches. They are more patient of longer waits, though less tolerant and also, more personally insulted if a wait exceeds their expectations.
The survey found that consumers from higher income households are also more willing to wait, although less forgiving of brands when returning if the experience was poor or the wait was long.
Retail bank wait time tolerance is similar to that of other retail types such as fashion, make-up/skincare, shopping mall and pet varieties.
Improving profitability and driving lasting brand relevance
These insights show that both during and outside of the Coronavirus, retail banks have much to gain by using Retail Choreography solutions to manage queues and to offer in-store and virtual appointments.
Our many case studies with leading retail banks have also shown the same. For more information on how we can help your brand take a look at our customer success stories or get in touch with our team for a demo at info@qudini.com
