Digital Transformation, Millennials and the Future of ... · Performance Matters — Digital Transformation, Millennials and the Future of Financial Services 3 Social Networking and

Digital Transformation, Millennials and the Future of Financial Services

from the Akamai “Performance Matters” series

Performance Matters — Digital Transformation, Millennials and the Future of Financial Services 2

Introduction

Financial Services Institutions (FSIs) are still feeling the effects of the 2008 financial crisis,

and are working to regain the trust of customers, clients, investors and regulators. Innovation

in the industry – the key to attracting the millennial generation of customers – is especially

challenging given the costs to maintain increasingly complex regulatory compliance and the

aging infrastructure many FSIs rely on to power their day-to-day business.

The Next Generation of Financial Services CustomersA generation of nearly 80 million strong, millennials are fundamentally different than their parents in terms of their banking

and investing habits. Consider the following data from Forbes1:

Millennials are projected to inherit at least $41 trillion by mid-century

67% of millennials say they would try financial services from brands they

trust that have succeeded in other sectors, like Nike, Google and Apple,

but that may not currently be offering financial services products

Only 46% see themselves staying with their current financial services

institution over the next few years

76% of affluent millennials will seek information about personal investing

on a social network

$41trillion

67%

46%

76%

FSIs must embrace a digital transformation, with a laser-focus on changing customer relationships and experiences,

redefining value propositions and optimizing business models and processes. This requires boardroom buy-in to develop

a truly digital culture, rather than supporting a “digital strategy project.” Unless FSIs are 100% customer-aligned through

that digital core, they run the risk of losing market share in the online banking and investing space to more nimble,

digitally native financial start-ups.

The Competition

Financial startups have completely changed the game regarding the online banking and investing experience, increasing

competitive pressure on incumbent financial institutions. Today’s customers expect near-instant gratification and resolution.

In order to meet these rising expectations FSIs must allow their customers to move seamlessly across channels, provide

intuitive mobile banking platforms, self-service capabilities and click-to-call/chat communication.


Social Networking and Banking Top List of Most Frequently Completed Online Activities Social media sites lead the way as the most common weekly activity for surveyed Internet users on desktop, mobile and

PC. Underscoring the rise of online and mobile banking in the past several years, accessing bank accounts is the second

most popular weekly activity on all devices, with streaming TV, movies and sports and researching products or services

rounding out the top for most frequent weekly activities.

Most Commonly Completed Online Activities

FSIs Must Focus on Social to Find New Customers

In the face of growing regulatory restrictions, few financial institutions have really been able to fully embrace the

strategic significance of social channels. Yet with 66% of Internet users visiting social sites once a week or more,

FSIs who fail to cultivate an active presence on social media are missing a massive opportunity to engage with the

next generation of customers. Additionally, they are missing opportunities to connect with mobile users, who are

the most active on social networks. 55% of mobile users visit social networking sites daily, while 75% do so once

a week or more. To establish trustworthiness and credibility, FSIs need to be where the customer is and be part of

the conversation where they interact, exchange opinions and levy complaints.

Visit Social

Networking Sites

Access Bank Accounts

Watch Streaming TV,

Movies, Sports

0

20

40

60

Desktop Mobile Tablet

Research Products And

Services For Purchase

38% 55% 50% 16% 23% 23% 9% 14% 16% 7% 23% 14%

Dai

ly

Visit Social

Networking Sites

Access Bank Accounts

Watch Streaming TV,

Movies, Sports

20

40

60

80


Research Products And

Services For Purchase

56% 75% 71% 55% 64% 61% 30% 39% 46% 38% 51% 57%

Onc

e a

Wee

k or

Mor

e


Visiting Social Networking Sites By Device

0

20

40

60

80


Social Networking Daily Social Networking Weekly

38% 55% 50% 51% 75% 71%

0

20

40

60

80


Access Bank Accounts Daily Access Bank Accounts Weekly

16% 23% 23% 55% 64% 61%

Booming Online Banking Means More Opportunity for FSIs

Customers are embracing online banking, especially on mobile devices. These ubiquitous devices are always on and

allow for instant access regardless of location. With 60% who do so weekly, accessing bank accounts is the second

most frequent activity for Internet users. Similarly to social networking activity, mobile users access bank accounts most

frequently, with 23% doing so daily and 64% doing so weekly. FSIs have a real opportunity to improve retention rates

be delivering a seamless experiences across devices.

Accessing Bank Accounts by Device

Now let’s take a look at consumer engagement in online banking and investing activities.


My personal information to be kept secure and private

Be easy to use and simple to understand

Website to be fast

67%

57%

48%

35%

28%

Website to be always available

Has quality content

Financial Services Customers Expect Security First, High Marks for Speed and Availability When banking customers visit a website, what do they expect? Financial services institutions won’t be surprised

to learn that web security is top of mind, with 67% citing it as a top expectation.

The real news for FSIs are the third and fourth top expectations of a website – speed (48%) and availability (35%) –

both of which rank above providing quality content. FSIs have historically placed a high value on the security of their

digital properties, and rightly so. However, by not investing in web performance and reliability with that same intensity,

they risk losing business to digitally native players that have placed a priority on delivering an exceptional user experience

to delight the customer.

Online Banking: Account Monitoring Activities Completed Most Frequently

The commoditization of banking has had a significant impact on FSIs client attrition and acquisition rates. Consider the

following – banks are losing customers at an average rate of 12.5% per year2, and it’s five times more expensive3 to

acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. So if you aren’t protected from data breaches, can’t keep your

site up, or allow your customers to abandon, it will be nearly impossible to acquire new customers and retain existing

ones through the lower-cost online channel. Today’s customers have more options than ever, and digitally native financial

startups already possess a dedicated digital focus, encouraging switching behavior and making retention more difficult

than ever before.

In order to succeed, FSIs must deliver exceptional web experiences first with basic account monitoring activities that are

already being commoditized. By doing so banks can develop customer trust, and that trust is the key to increasing loyalty

and reducing churn. With fewer customers switching to competitors, financial institutions will acquire more customer

data, and by leveraging that data as a competitive differentiator FSIs can potentially earn a lifetime of opportunity to

sell customers more banking products and earn their loyalty and advocacy. Account monitoring activities are the most

frequently completed by online bankers across the globe. The top three weekly online banking activities are:

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/resources/web-security.jsp

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/resources/web-performance.jsp


Check an account balance

Review account transactions

View an e-statement

73%

62%

29%

FSIs can no longer expect the customer will come to them. They must be device neutral, providing secure, high

performing web experiences regardless of device or location. Mobile and tablet online bankers demonstrate

significantly higher engagement in the above activities than desktop users. They are also more engaged than

desktop users in some of the less frequently performed activities, including transferring money between accounts,

paying bills, making a mobile deposit, and other self-service activities. For the top three weekly activities, mobile

and tablet users engage more frequently than desktop users by a range of 6-16 percentage points.

Online Banking Activities by Device

0

20

40

60

80

100


Account Balance Account Transactions View E-Statement

63% 77% 79% 53% 66% 68% 23% 29% 21%


Mobile and tablet bankers also eclipse desktop users for daily activities by a considerable margin.

19% 30% 31%

Check Account Balance Daily

13% 21% 21%

Review Account Transactions Daily

Online Investing: Account Monitoring More Common Than Transactional Activity

Once FSIs have begun building trust by providing exceptional experiences with basic account monitoring activities,

they must prove themselves with more complex activities such as checking a portfolio balance or viewing trading

history transactions. However, the challenge continues because these more “transactional” activities tend to be

richer and more dynamic, and will require an increased focus on performance.

To begin with, the focus should be on the top five weekly activities across devices:

Check portfolio balance

Check trading history transactions

View an e-statement

53%

38%

35%

33%

26%

Research stocks/bonds/ mutual funds

Buy or sell stocks/bonds/ mutual funds

Checking a portfolio balance is the most completed activity by online investors across the globe, with 53% doing

so weekly — 15% higher than the next closest activity.

Evaluated by device, tablet users are the most active in four of the five above activities, with mobile optimized websites

closely behind and ranking first for checking trading history transactions. Desktop users are notably less active, trailing

mobile and tablet users by a range of 7-24% depending on the activity.

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/resources/mobile-optimized-websites.jsp


Top Online Investing Activities by Device

Check Portfolio Balance

Check Trading History

View E-Statement

0

20

40

60

80


Research Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds

43% 56% 60% 29% 44% 42% 29% 36% 40% 19% 38% 43%

When it comes to more complex transactions, such as buying or selling stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, mobile and tablet

investors are far more active than their desktop counterparts, more than doubling their daily and weekly frequency.

Transactional Activity by Device

0

10

20

30

40


Buy or Sell Stocks/Bonds/Mutual Funds Daily

Buy or Sell Stocks/Bonds/Mutual Funds Weekly

5% 12% 12%

15% 31% 31%

For more complex transactions, mobile and tablet users double the activity of desktop users, yet another sign

of the importance of developing a truly digital culture.


Financial Services Customers Have Lightning Fast Page Load Expectations

Today’s engaged, digitally native consumer – influenced by their daily interactions on social media and other platforms

– expect all sites to be high performing and lightning fast. Financial services customers page load expectations are

as follows:

For perspective, we compare financial services expectations with e-commerce performance, where seconds can

quickly add up to millions in lost revenue. Surprisingly, financial services customers’ expectations exceed their

e-commerce counterparts.

Page Load Expectations: Financial Services vs. E-Commerce

0

20

40

60

80

Instant One Second Two Seconds

E-Commerce Financial Services

23% 34% 52%18% 30% 49%

This is a clear wake up call for FSIs. Retail sites have historically placed a high value on web and mobile performance,

and have directed revenue and resources into providing their consumers with fast web experiences. Due largely to

the regulatory and infrastructure issues mentioned earlier, FSIs have been delayed in their ability to focus on web

performance, yet face huge risks if they continue to lag behind the race to not only meet, but exceed the high

expectations of current and potential customers.

2S

52%expect two seconds or less

34%expect one second or less

1S

23%expect instant page load

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/solutions/why-akamai/e-commerce-performance.jsp

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/web-and-mobile-performance.jsp


We further explore expectations in page load time by breaking down expectations by device. While data tells us that the

fastest website performance is typically achieved on desktop, financial services customers expect pages to load almost

equally as fast on mobile and tablet as they do on desktop.

Financial Services Customers Page Load Expectations by Device

0

20

40

60

80


Instant Page Load 1 Second 2 Seconds

24% 23% 22% 35% 34% 33% 51% 52% 52%

Customers don’t consider the difficulties of delivering high-performing sites on cellular networks – they want

their content fast, regardless of how it reaches them. Financial services institutions need to be more focused than

ever on providing great web experiences on mobile and tablet devices.

Drivers and Reactions to Dissatisfying Web Experiences

Slow Response, Lack of Availability are Top Causes of Bad Experiences

In order to provide great experiences to consumers, FSIs must first identify what causes bad web experiences and work to

overcome them. Customers’ top complaints regarding website experiences are “slow response” and “lack of availability”.

The website was slow to respond

The website was not available/crashed/received error page

The website did not allow me to do the task I wanted to

60%

50%

43%

By device, desktop users cite the above at higher rates than mobile and tablet users. A high percent of mobile and

tablet users cite “inability to complete task” and “navigation” issues as top problems.

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/multimedia/documents/report/slow-responsive-web-design-sites-are-bad-for-business-infographic.pdf


Percent of Financial Services Customers Unable to Accomplish Task by Device

Mobile Users are Most Dissatisfied

Mobile users experience website dissatisfaction the most often, with nearly 40% stating they have had a dissatisfying

experience. Following closely behind are tablet users, with 35% having experienced dissatisfaction. While desktop

users lag behind both mobile and tablet users for percent experiencing dissatisfaction — 1 in 4 desktop users reported

it, indicating that even users on devices considered “best” still experience web performance problems.

Percent Experiencing Dissatisfaction by Device

Peak Traffic Exacerbates Bad Experiences

These website performance issues are exacerbated during peak events, such as the release of new products and

services. Fifty percent of consumers reported experiencing Internet slowdown during high-traffic occasions. Of those

who experienced slowdown during peak, 82% had website access prevented or stopped trying to access the site in

response. The stark and ugly reality is that a staggering 87% of mobile users reported a complete inability to access

their intended site during a peak event. These events are where FSIs spend their marketing dollars to drive traffic —

for access to be prevented at that moment is a critical failure.

Website Access Prevented During High Traffic Occasion by Device

20

30

40

50Desktop

Mobile

Tablet

32%

47% 49%

20

30

40

50Desktop

Mobile

Tablet25%

39%35%

60

70

80

90Desktop

Mobile

Tablet

75%

87%83%


To extrapolate on the above, 41% of consumers have experienced slowdown during peak traffic that prevented them

from accessing a website. High-traffic events like debuting new mortgage rates, offering incentives for opening new

brokerage accounts, or advertising a new credit card can be critical to and FSIs business. For example, if the credit

card division wants to grow customer acquisition and launches a new product, the success of that campaign is highly

dependent upon how the site responds to higher traffic demands. When spending precious advertising dollars on driving

potential customers to your site, you need to feel confident that the web experience will be exceptional from any device,

anywhere, any time.

When Dissatisfied, Consumers Abandon, Lose Trust

When consumers face dissatisfying web experiences, they react in a variety of ways – and all of them are bad for business.

Consumers’ top three reactions to a bad experience are abandoning to visit another website, being less likely to return,

and having a more negative perception of the brand.

Responses to Dissatisfying Web Experiences:

It is imperative that financial services institutions place a high value on providing customers great web experiences.

These experiences have huge implications on their brand and user experience. They can cause consumers to lose

confidence in an institution, and share their negative experience with friends and family, further damaging the brand.

35%Will have more negative perception of the brand

Less likely to make online transaction with company32%

Less likely to return45%

Would tell friends/family members/co-workers about experience19%

Abandon and visit another site48%


Users Still Prefer the Desktop Experience

Despite the frequency that mobile and tablet users complete financial services activities, when asked which device they

prefer to conduct financial activities on, 3 of 4 users still cite preference for the desktop experience.

75%: Desktop

13%:Mobile

12%:Tablet

While it may seem contradictory at first glance, the reason can be found in consumers’ growing expectation of rich,

dynamic high-performing sites. We are no longer in a world where people have to go online — today’s customer is

always online. However, users expect high quality, desktop-like web experiences on all devices, even mobile and tablet.

The problem? Fragmented audiences make it challenging to deliver the right experience to the end user based on device

characteristics; and cellular networks are spotty and subject to latency and packet loss. The end-user experience is roughly

four times slower on mobile than desktop. FSIs that work to optimize mobile performance and provide the desktop

experience to mobile and tablet users have the best chance to retain customers and attract new ones.

https://www.akamai.com/us/en/solutions/why-akamai/mobile-and-responsive-web-design-optimization.jsp


What We’ve LearnedWe’ve taken our findings from this report and boiled them down into key takeaways in four separate categories.

Today’s Customer Has Lightning Fast Expectations

1. Consumers’ top three expectations for a website are security, usability and speed

2. Financial services customers have lightning fast page load expectations – 23% expect instant page load,

34% expect one second or less, and 52% expect two seconds or less

3. Financial services customers have faster page load expectations than online shoppers

4. Financial services customers expect pages to load at approximately the same speed on a desktop,

mobile or tablet device

Online Banking and Investing Popularity Presents Opportunity for FSIs

5. The most frequently completed online activity among Internet users is visiting social networking sites,

followed by accessing bank accounts

6. Financial services customers more frequently participate in online banking activities than online investing

activities, but online investing represents a big growth opportunity globally

7. Online bankers most frequently complete activities that come in the form of account monitoring, like

checking an account balance or reviewing account transactions

8. Online investors most frequently complete account monitoring activities such as checking a portfolio balance,

reviewing trading history, or viewing an e-statement

Users Want Convenience of Mobile, Functionality of Desktop

9. Mobile and tablet users visit social media sites and access bank accounts more frequently than desktop users

10. Mobile and tablet users engage in weekly online banking and investing activities more frequently than desktop

users by 6-24 percentage points depending on the activity

11. Consumers still cite a preference for the rich, highly-functional desktop experience over the more convenient

mobile and tablet experience

Bad Experiences are Bad For Business

12. The top driver of bad web experiences is the site being slow to respond, followed by lack of availability

13. Mobile users experience website dissatisfaction the most often, followed closely by tablet users

14. 41% of consumers have experienced Internet slowdown during peak traffic that prevented them from

accessing a website

15. The top three responses to a bad web experience: 1) abandon and visit another site, 2) less likely to return,

and 3) have a more negative perception of the brand, all lead to lost revenue opportunities


©2015 Akamai Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. Akamai and the Akamai wave logo are registered

trademarks. Other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. Akamai believes that the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date; such information is subject

to change without notice. Published 11/15.

Akamai is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States with operations in more than 57 offices around the world. Our services and renowned customer care are designed to enable businesses to provide an unparalleled Internet experience for their customers worldwide. Addresses, phone numbers and contact information for all locations are listed on www.akamai.com/locations.

As the global leader in Content Delivery Network (CDN) services, Akamai makes the Internet fast, reliable and secure for its customers. The company’s advanced web performance, mobile performance, cloud security and media delivery solutions are revolutionizing how businesses optimize consumer, enterprise and entertainment experiences for any device, anywhere. To learn how Akamai solutions and its team of Internet experts are helping businesses move faster forward, please visit www.akamai.com or blogs.akamai.com, and follow @Akamai on Twitter.

How We Got HereAkamai launched the Performance Matters series to identify key consumer web performance insights in the financial

services and e-commerce industries in the form of page load expectation, device preference, reactions to dissatisfying

web experiences and more. The Performance Matters series was developed based on findings from the 2014 Consumer

Web Performance Expectation Survey conducted for Akamai by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS). The survey consisted of 3,487

respondents located in the United States, United Kingdom (UK), France, Germany and Japan who were above the age

of 18 and had accessed the Internet in the past three months. This report will focus specifically on Financial Services

customers, but includes data from all consumers.

Appendix

1. Shin, Laura. Forbes, 7 May 2015. How Millennial’s Money Habits Could Shake Up The Financial Services Industry; http://www.forbes.

com/sites/laurashin/2015/05/07/how-millennials-money-habits-could-shake-up-the-financial-services-industry/

2,3. Financial Publishing Services. FPS, The Cost of Customer Churn; http://www.fpsc.com/The_Cost_of_Customer_Churn.pdf

http://www.tnsglobal.com/

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Digital Transformation, Millennials and the Future of ... · Performance Matters — Digital Transformation, Millennials and the Future of Financial Services 3 Social Networking and