The rise of the multi-screeners

Offering a consistent and personal experience across devices will increase CUs’ appeal.

by: Stephen Bohanon

A Google study titled, “The New Multi-screen World: Understanding Cross-platform Consumer Behavior,” reported that “we are a nation of multi-screeners,” where the large majority (90 percent) of our media interactions are screen based. The report also indicated that consumers tend to either move from device to device or use multiple devices at the same time, moving seamlessly between them throughout the day.

Managing finances is a top activity performed when consumers are sequentially screening between devices, according to the study. In fact, smartphones tend to be the most common starting place for banking activities (59 percent). Fifty-six percent then continue on through a PC or laptop, followed by 3 percent on a tablet.

It is clear consumers are quickly changing the way they bank. According to Pew Research, device ownership continues to evolve with smartphones and tablets gaining. As of January 2014, over half (58 percent) of American adults owned a smartphone and 42 percent owned a tablet. Meanwhile, “dumb” phones are declining.

Consequently, device usage is also evolving. Pew Research found that website visits through tablets and smartphones each increased by 50 percent in just one year.

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