Consumer Adoption of Alerts Doubles

The Javelin report also found that 25% of all online consumers received an alert in the last 30 days, with many receiving an update in the last seven. With a focus on customer-preference data and compelling product features, Javelin believes that e-mail alert adoption will double again by 2010 to reach half of all online households while also becoming an important part of growing text-messaging usage.

"Alerts hold great importance for managers for three reasons," said James Van Dyke, President of Javelin Strategy& Research. "Alerts convert static, boring financial services into an active management role by sending information rather than by simply waiting for it to be accessed; individuals can get relevant updates on services that meet timely needs; and alerts improve safety by giving updates on conditions that could indicate problems."

But the increased volume of alert messages also comes with the risk of an adoption plateau Van Dyke warns. "Bank and card issuers must continue to make alerts as easy to manage and cull as they are to initially activate," he said. "Products should be designed so that alerts don't become 'white noise,' which could cause alerts to be eventually ignored or simply turned off altogether."

The Javelin report indicates that current alert offerings differ significantly from one bank or issuer to another, and adoption from one institution to the next can vary by as much as one-and-a-half times. For example, 40% of Citibank banking customers have received an alert in the previous 30 days -- as compared to the overall average of 25%. Javelin also found particularly strong alerting capabilities at Bank of America, Chase, Discover Cards, E*Trade Bank and Wachovia Bank.

Major Findings of Consumer Adoption of Alerts Double: What Do Consumers Want Now?

• Age and income predict unique preference patterns for alerts at banks and issuers.
• Consumer interest falls primarily within the categories of convenience, financial management, and safety.
• Alerts will lead to a broader set of customer account controls that bank and issuer sites will offer over the next several years: user- defined alerts, prohibitions, and review-and-release controls.
• Bank and card issuer alert offerings differ significantly among the fifty top U.S. providers.

"Just as ATMs and Internet banking were once revolutionary, electronic alerts represent an early glimpse of the next revolution in terms of how consumers and businesses will eventually manage their finances," Van Dyke said. "The information can now go out to find the individual rather than the other way around. In the future, the interaction will be increasingly customizable and two-way in nature, even allowing individuals to communicate with their bank about a particular transaction in real-time. This capability can provide new levels of convenience, services and security."

For a copy of the complete Consumer Adoption of Alerts Double: What Do Consumers Want Now? report, or for information on the methodologies applied, key findings and other Javelin reports or custom research, visit: http://www.javelinstrategy.com/alerts or call 925-225 9100 x 26.