SAN FRANCISCO—The meteoric growth of smartphone and tablet adoption and the highly touted Apple Watch rollout are propelling momentum for push notifications to be central in consumers’ lives sooner than many expect, according to new analysis by Javelin Strategy & Research.
That conclusion comes from Javelin’s new study, “Push Notifications Change the Game for Financial Alerts,” which reveals the demographics of users of push notifications and alerts; forecasts the market by 2019, and offers strategies for financial push notifications to stand out amongst all the other apps.
Javelin is forecasting that by 2019 52% of online U.S. adults will receive an e-mail, text, or push notification alert, compared with 40% today. Push notifications are fueling this trend – and they will supplant text alerts as the No. 2 form of financial alert.
“One of the many obstacles standing in the path of success for alerts is the challenge to compete with the clutter from the growing number of other nonbank apps,” Javelin said. “Notifications are essential in a mobile lifestyle, with 43% of consumers receiving a notification in past 90 days.”
Javelin said in a statement that financial institutions must redesign the apps to solve many frustrating design features, including effectively hiding alerts and making them difficult to turn on, adjust on the fly, and apply effectively in daily life.
“Financial alerts can and will win a role in your smartphone and smartwatch, but banks can stand out amid the flood of notifications only if the content is relevant, digestible and actionable in a matter of seconds. We’re still in the early days on that count,” said Mark Schwanhausser, director of omnichannel financial services at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Done right, alerts can become daily ‘conversations’ with customers that build trust, strengthen the status of the primary FI, and can trigger customer service and sales opportunities with bankers.”