BOSTON–In what was described as a “marked shift” from three previous biennial surveys, Celent is reporting that “improving sales results” is no longer job number-one in the coming year for America’s financial institutions.
Instead, the financial institutions surveyed said that “improving customer relationships” is the top retail banking strategic priority n 2017.
The results of its study were released by Celent as part of its new report, A Survey of Retail Banking Channel Systems in North America: Omnichannel Emerges. The report was written by Bob Meara, a senior analyst in Celent’s banking practice.
“After surveying 112 top North American financial institutions, the results solidly identify improving customer relationships as their top retail banking strategic priority,” Celent said. “Spending priorities since 2010 have steadily shifted from physical to digital channels. Mobile is now broadly the highest channel priority among the majority of institutions. Moreover, improving platform capabilities is the most important technology initiative supporting banks’ strategic priorities.”
Celent noted that no longer just a self-service delivery channel, digital is becoming a primary engagement mechanism for both self-service and assisted/full-service interactions.
“As this sinks in, institutions will invest in channel platform consolidation, beginning with the digital channel, already underway,” Celent said.
The survey found that while conceding the importance of omnichannel delivery to deliver key strategic priorities (4.1 on a 5.0 importance scale), fully half of surveyed institutions have not begun substantive efforts. Roughly half of institutions have a person or team charged with its realization. Just one in ten surveyed institutions are executing a strategy.
“Mobile banking platform competitiveness is now most every institution’s top technology priority — and rightly so. This is evident in the pace of new mobile banking capabilities being introduced,” commented Meara. “But, most every institution’s number two technology priority, omnichannel delivery, has not yet been met with the activity it merits. Fully half of surveyed institutions don’t have an individual or group tasked with omnichannel delivery and have no strategy yet in place to bring it about.”