A new report from Celent has found that improving the customer relationship is now a top priority for retail banks. This is a departure from the company’s three previous editions of the study, all of which found improving sales results to be the most important focus area.
The research firm’s “Survey of Retail Banking Channel Systems in North America: Omnichannel Emerges” surveyed 112 financial institutions in North America and shows that, going back to 2010, banks have shifted their spending priorities from physical to digital channels.
While mobile has received the bulk of the attention, respondents gave omnichannel delivery with an average 4.1 important ranking, out of 5.0, when asked where financial firms must now place their strategic priorities.

Source: Celent
Despite this recognition, half of the companies surveyed “have not begun substantive efforts,” according to the report. Even worse, less than one in 10 institutions are actually executing a strategy.
“Mobile banking platform competitiveness is now most every institution’s top technology priority — and rightly so,” said Bob Meara, a senior analyst at Celent’s Banking practice and the author of the study. “This is evident in the pace of new mobile banking capabilities being introduced. But most every institution’s number-two technology priority — omnichannel delivery — has not yet been met with the activity it merits.”