Tracking Trends in the Financial Services Industry
The financial services industry is undergoing massive change as traditional providers seek to transform digitally and keep pace with new entrants. Financial services leaders must stay informed on how consumers are reacting to and shaping the future of the industry through their interactions with financial services providers, their financial goals and preferences, and their overall financial well-being.
To help leaders stay abreast of consumer trends, Morning Consult is tracking consumers’ trust in, usage of and satisfaction with financial services providers through a monthly survey of U.S. adults. Find a more detailed methodology for this tracker below.
Key Takeaways
Most U.S. adults haven’t changed their financial priorities as the holidays approach. The shares of consumers feeling like they’re making “a lot” or “some” progress toward top financial goals, including improving credit, evening out spending and maintaining a budget, remained relatively consistent in November from the previous month, though the latter two ticked up slightly. This could point to consumers feeling rather secure ahead of the holiday season despite high prices.
Wealthier consumers are weighing opening new credit cards. Overall intent to open a new credit card in the next six months marginally increased from 15% to 17% in November. But among consumers in households making more than $100,000 annually, the increase was much larger: 3 in 10 members of this group plan to start a new credit card relationship, up from 19% in October. The increase may stem from consumers looking for deals and sign-up bonuses in the current market.
BNPL use climbed, especially among younger adults. The share of U.S. adults who made at least one BNPL purchase grew to 24% in November — tying a six-month high from July — as holiday shopping picks up. Growth was driven disproportionately by millennials and Gen Z adults, who posted 7 and 12 percentage point increases month over month, respectively. Consumers said they are mostly using the tech to finance purchases of apparel, electronics and personal technology.
Progress Toward Financial Goals
Consumption of Financial Advice
Trust in the Financial Services Industry
Trust in Financial Services Companies
Usage of Multiple Providers
Satisfaction With Primary Financial Services Providers
Interactions With Primary Providers
Reliance on Advice or Assistance
Bank Branch, ATM and Digital Wallet Usage
'Buy Now, Pay Later' Usage
Consumers Opening New Accounts
Intention to Switch Providers
Overdraft and Usage of Alternative Financial Services
Source of This Data
Methodology
The Morning Consult Financial Services Monthly Trend Tracker relies on data collected through Morning Consult’s proprietary survey research capabilities. The interviews are conducted online, and the data are weighted to approximate a representative sample of U.S. adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race and region. Results from the full survey have a monthly sample size of 2,200 to 4,400 U.S. adults and an unweighted margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
About Morning Consult
Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com
The authors would like to thank Charlotte Principato for her contributions to this research.
Caroline Smith is a manager of financial services intelligence at Morning Consult, where she analyzes high-frequency data to help the company deliver real-time insights to the financial services sector.
Jaime Toplin previously worked at Morning Consult as a senior financial services analyst.
