September 7th, 2023, Kineree Shah
According to a YouGov survey, a quarter of consumers across 18 international markets are inclined to visit a physical establishment for banking services – almost unchanged from the share of consumers who said so in 2022 (26% vs 25%). Meanwhile, nearly one-fifth of consumers favored securing insurance from a brick-and-mortar shop, a statistic that remained unchanged from the previous year at 18%. However, consumer preferences exhibit variations across different markets.
Banking services
In Asia, the banking sector in Hong Kong witnessed a marked increase in preference for physical establishments, with the proportion rising from just over a quarter in 2022 to one-third in 2023 (27% to 34%). Conversely, Indonesia experienced a significant decline, with the numbers dwindling from 18% to 14%, indicative of a potential swing towards digital platforms. Meanwhile, the Indian market saw a nominal decrease in consumers preferring physical banking services, moving from 34% in 2022 to 33% in 2023.
In Europe, France recorded a slight uptick in preference for physical banking outlets, with figures moving from 33% to 34%. In stark contrast, Poland noted a more pronounced decrease, with preference dipping from a quarter in 2022 to one-fifth in 2023 (26% to 21%). Both Denmark and the UK saw minor increases, registering changes from 22% to 25% and 18% to 21%, respectively.
Over in North America, the US market registered a notable increase in consumer preference for offline banking services, from 28% to 31%. On the other hand, Canada held relatively steady, moving from 30% to 29%.
Meanwhile, Australia experienced a downward trend, with the fraction of consumers favoring physical establishments for banking services shrinking by three percentage points (from 27% to 24%).
Insurance services
In the Asian market, Hong Kong saw a dramatic surge in preferences, moving from one in five consumers in 2022 to nearly one-third in 2023 (from 21% to 31%). During the same period, India (27% in 2022 to 25% in 2023) and the UAE recorded more decline in preference (23% in 2022 to 19% in 2023).
In Europe, consumer behavior for buying insurance offline in several markets remained roughly the same in comparison to 2022. Spain (20% in 2022 to 21% in 2023), Italy (23% in 2022 to 25% in 2023), and Denmark (12% in 2022 to 15% in 2023) noted a slight increase, whereas Germany (23% in 2022 to 22% in 2023) and Poland (21% in 2022 to 18% in 2023) experienced a slight downturn. British consumers are least likely to buy insurance from physical outlets of all markets surveyed (7% in 2022 and 6% in 2023).
In North America, Canada observed an uplift in consumer preference, with figures climbing from 21% to 24%. At the same time, the US also noted an increase in the number of consumers opting to purchase insurance services from physical establishments, with preferences moving from 19% to 21%.
In Australia, there was a significant dip in the preference for physical establishments for insurance services, plummeting from 16% in 2022 to 12% in 2023.
This data illustrates the evolving consumer preferences in the banking and insurance sectors, highlighting notable shifts in several markets. A vigilant observation of these trends can equip businesses with insights for devising strategies that align with shifting consumer inclinations.
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 514 and 2004 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in July 2022 and June 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.