• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, August 18, 2015

ResearchBrief 2 0818

According to a new report released by Bank of America, conducted by Braun Research, 47% of U.S. consumers admit they wouldn’t last a day without their smartphone, and many consider their devices more important than daily staples such as coffee and television, Of those who use their phones for banking, 31% say they log on at least once a day, and 82% access their accounts at least once a week or more.

While 47% of Americans say they couldn’t make it a day without their mobile device. older millennials and GenX cohorts are even more dependent:

The findings are part of the inaugural Bank of America Trends in Consumer Mobility Report, exploring broad mobile trends and banking behaviors among adult consumers across the country who own a smartphone and have an existing banking relationship.

Mobile connectivity is so critical, says the report, that the smartphone falls below only the Internet and personal hygiene when ranked by importance to people’s daily lives. 91% say their mobile phone is very important, just as important as their car (91%) and deodorant (91%); and significantly more important than television (76%) and coffee (60%).

The report also found that the youngest millennials ages 18-24 are most likely to view their mobile phones as very important (96%); more so than deodorant (90%) and even their toothbrush (93%).

Marc Warshawsky, senior vice president and mobile solutions executive at Bank of America, says “… mobile phones have changed the way we live… and that extends to our finances… BofA has more than 15 million active mobile banking… (accessing their) accounts on a mobile device over 165 million times per month… “

62% of consumers have at least tried mobile banking, says the report, but while mobile and online banking services are becoming more widely used, visits to bank branches also remain high: 84% of respondents have visited a bank branch within the past six months. However, just 23% of respondents say they complete the majority of their banking transactions at a branch, and 47% turn to mobile or online as their preferred method.

Consumers who say they do not use mobile check deposit cite lack of awareness as the chief reason: 35% are either not as familiar as they would like to be or unsure how to use the feature. 21% of those surveyed prefer physically handing checks to a teller, and 27% report they just do not have any checks to deposit.

 “… customers are depositing an average of 170 thousand checks via mobile device every day… ” said Warshawsky.

78% of respondents would be comfortable with an added security feature to gain access to their mobile banking app in the future

And, finally, some additional insights on digital users uncovered in the study:

• 34% of consumers would consider (or have) used their smartphone to make a purchase at checkout.
• 34% would consider (or have) a wearable device to make a purchase at checkout; 40% of older (ages 25-34) would do so.
• 42% of respondents would consider purchasing (or have) wearable technology. That jumps to 48% for millennials ages 25-34, and 47% of GenX ages 35-49

Addendum: Importance of Smartphones in Everyday Life.

The annual “Bank of America Trends in Consumer Mobility Report” shows that 38% of consumers never disconnect from their smartphones, and only 7% entirely shut down on vacation. In addition, 89% of adults check their smartphones at least several times per day and 36% say they constantly check their devices.

The research shows that 51% of respondents use mobile or online services as their preferred method of banking. 23%, including just 6% of respondents ages 18 to 24, complete the majority of their transactions at a branch.

Three quarters of consumers say they have mobile boundaries, that some places are not appropriate for mobile phone use. Respondents say movie theaters (31%), religious institutions (18%), and restaurants (13%) were the most annoying places people use their smartphones.

Braun Research, Inc. (an independent market research company) conducted a nationally representative telephone survey on behalf of Bank of America. The margin of error for the National quota is +/- 3.1% with a 95% confidence level.

For additional information about the study, please visit here.