LOMBARD, Ill.—Millennials may get all the attention, but there’s a new generation of consumers following on their heels who present a big opportunity for credit unions–as well as a lot of risk.
Gen Z, a new study has found, is very open to choosing alternative financial services, but they are also trusting and loyal to credit unions.
The study was conducted by Raddon, and the company plans to share what it said are eye-opening findings about a demographic credit unions and banks will soon be courting during its inaugural Raddon Research Conference, Nov. 6–8, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
The report is just one of many topics that will be covered during the three-day meeting that also presents great networking opportunities.
Raddon said that the just-completed Gen Z study includes insights from more than 2,600 high schoolers from across the U.S. on how they use and view banking. Gen Z is generally defined as individuals born between 1996 and 2010.
“A really interesting finding from the study is that Gen Z is very open to disruption within financial services,” said Bill Handel, VP of research and product development. “They are looking at the new players, the fintechs. Yet, at the same time they feel a lot of trust and comfort with traditional financial institutions.”
Risk Balanced With Rewards
Handel emphasized that the risk in the Gen Z demographic is balanced with potential rewards.
“In no way is the battle lost here,” said Handel. “But what credit unions really need to think about now is how do they craft their messages in a better way to make themselves relevant with Gen Z.”
Handel explained that as is the case with Millennials, within Gen Z there are distinct and different segments.
“About one-third of Gen Z likes traditional face-to-face, in branch, old school relationships. And then another third thinks Google and Apple can do a better job than banks or credit unions. So a remarkable difference—and a ton of opportunity and a bunch of risk.”
Senior Research Analyst Andrew Vahrenkamp said much of the study focused on learning how Gen Z views and uses financial services, as well as social media.
Bill Handel, Raddon
“We found some fascinating things about how they use social media and how they use social media to help them make decisions,” said Vahrenkamp. “The study shows how this group uses smart devices, addresses their financial goals, and how credit unions can help them. We also learned how many have participated in some sort of financial education class—a number much higher than I anticipated.”
The first-ever Raddon Research Conference is a new way for the company to share its industry-leading research, said Handel.
“We used to hold regional workshops twice a year across the country. But today we think it is more valuable for the industry to come together for a big conference. We can get together and discuss all our meeting topics in a forum that encourages interaction,” said Handel.
Many Topics To Choose From
The meeting, said Handel, will cover a wide range of topics and is designed for attendees to pick and choose what meets their needs and interests. Topics will include a keynote on big social data by Dr. Jennifer Golbeck, a world leader in social media research, and breakout sessions including “Stimulating Growth in Today’s Lending Market,” “Leveraging Your Investment in Mobile Banking” and “Benchmarking Your Brand.”
The new conference, said Handel, is a forum to share and discuss the latest consumer and small business research findings as well as their practical application through marketing and business strategies. The event will feature Raddon analysts, as well as nationally recognized speakers.
“We have purposely designed our sessions to be very interactive,” said Handel. “We are looking for the audience to tell us about their experiences to either support the research or even to refute it if that happens to be the case.”
“The Raddon Research Conference is an excellent networking opportunity for bank and credit union CEOs, product development specialists, and research and marketing experts,” said Vahrenkamp. “This is new and unique and will be really powerful. It’s a fascinating way for people to get together and see what is happening in the industry—not just in terms of what financial institutions are doing, but also what consumers are thinking and what banks and credit unions can do to take advantage of that.”
For more information on the meeting, speakers and to register, click here.
