Financial institutions take a page from retail’s interactive playbook
Today, digital signage is everywhere, and touchscreens have become a must-have in stores, restaurants, and other retail locations. Indeed, digital screens have become ubiquitous across the retail landscape, revolutionizing how customers interact, browse, and buy. This retail innovation is, according to Touchscreens in Retail Environments, “igniting a whole new level of engagement with customers.” An article on Engaging In-Store Shoppers notes that “in-store experiences are what now define a brand, from local stores to national brand names.”
As customers want greater personalization and an immersive experience, financial institutions must take their cues from other retail environments to meet rising customer expectations. Bank and credit union branches are no longer just transactional hubs; they are fast becoming centers for branded experiences. From signing in for an appointment to sorting through product options, integrating touchscreens into the branch environment elevates customer experience, offers a seamless connection between digital channels, and offers significant marketing impact. Juliet D’Ambrosio, Adrenaline’s Chief Experience Officer, notes that “successful branch marketing choreographs communication in a seamless customer journey. It deepens relationships, provides personalized products, supports valuable consultations, and delivers a differentiated brand experience.”
In the retail environment, digital signage screens have become tools for engagement, exploration, and conversion. In bank and credit union branches, screens enable everything from routine check-ins and to guided product exploration, service navigation, and learning. Digital touchscreens can provide wayfinding, identify financial tools, help consumers review product options, and serve up educational content, including interactive quizzes to inform and engage waiting customers. Touchscreens in banking also free up bank staff by supporting DIY (do-it-yourself) financial tasks without losing the human touch of staff on hand. For example, a customer who starts their loan application at home can finish it in-branch using a touchscreen – with guidance and support from branch employees.
It’s the continuity between channels that counts as bank and credit union customers expect a seamless transition from self-service to getting help at the branch. Digital screens enable customers to continue in-branch where they left off on their laptop or mobile. In-branch displays can also showcase loyalty and reward programs and make it easy to enroll via digital kiosks. Similarly, the use of digital signage facilitates quick and cost-effective updates to branch-specific marketing offers, including limited-time promotions, rate changes, and featured products. Ultimately, the deployment of an omnichannel approach makes use of data to deliver a customized message and prioritizes quality interactions.
Digital touchscreens aren’t just functional tools; they represent an opportunity for financial institutions to tell their brand story. Touchscreens allow customers to explore everything from interactive timelines to community impact stories. They can also adapt content to the user’s interests and humanize the brand with employee stories and customer testimonials. Using visuals, videos, graphics, and animation offers opportunities to engage waiting customers, letting them explore the content while reinforcing the bank’s purpose. Borrowing from large-format retail and airport use, relevant digital signage content also enhances trust while at the same time reducing perceived wait times. In the end, interactive screens offer a scalable, intuitive, and impactful way to enhance services and strengthen the in-branch brand presence.
An article on reimagining the role of retail in an omnichannel world notes that “online and offline channels are increasingly complementary; online channels provide convenience to consumers, but offline channels offer important opportunities for consumer engagement, brand building, and pickup.” The use of digital screens for retail innovation has provided a roadmap for financial institutions, and it has revealed how technology can free up staff for higher-value interactions. Banks and credit unions can use digital screens and kiosks to handle things like product reviews and form collection, for example. This lets staff focus their time on providing advice and expertise. By freeing up staff from routine tasks, this also supports customer service in lean-staffed branches and/or during high-traffic times.
For all their immersive importance, touchscreens aren’t just customer-facing – they also deliver valuable back-end analytics. This data gives financial institutions key metrics, including dwell time, most-viewed services, and patterns, preferences, and drop-off points in the customer journey. By facilitating A/B testing of different content offerings, digital tools can also help bank branches hone future offerings. The use of digital touchpoints allows for continuous improvement driven by data – not guesswork – and provides a bridge between customers’ digital expectations and their real-world experiences.
For more information about the use of digital touchscreens in your bank branches, or to learn more about Adrenaline’s digital signage services, get in touch with one of our banking digital signage experts.
Adrenaline is an end-to-end brand experience company serving the financial industry. We move brands and businesses ahead by delivering on every aspect of their experience across digital and physical channels, from strategy through implementation. Our multi-disciplinary team works with leadership to advise on purpose, position, culture, and retail growth strategies. We create brands people love and engage audiences from employees to customers with story-led design and insights-driven marketing; and we design and build transformative brand experiences across branch networks, leading the construction and implementation of physical spaces that drive business advantage and make the brand experience real.
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