For decades, American retail banking has revolved around the baby boomer generation. But now, based on 2020 Census data, boomers are the minority cohort. Younger generations have overtaken boomers – and overwhelmingly moved their business toward the largest banks. Seventy percent of millennial and Gen Z consumers claim a large bank as their primary financial institution (PFI). This study examines demographic elements of the new predominant generations to understand the shift and to determine whether they can be convinced to switch to smaller institutions.

The latest Raddon Research Insights study, Financial Health: Stress and Solutions in a Pandemic Age, examines the financial stresses that American consumers feel as the COVID-19 pandemic rages.

While most consumers believe their financial health is sound, in many cases, they face immense levels of financial stress. In this study, Raddon explores a harrowing picture of financial health for younger consumers in particular, but we hope to offer a road map for financial institutions looking to bolster the wherewithal of their consumers.

Branch Transformation: Building for the Next Generation, explores how consumer affinity for branching is changing and what models and features look to drive traffic in the 2020s.

Generation Z: The Touchscreen Generation, examines how this generation’s unique experience growing up amid the rapid evolution of personal technology and the resulting surge in accessible information have shaped their preferences as consumers, especially in the financial services sphere.

As the Millennial generation has matured they have captured the ongoing interest of financial service providers, often overshadowing other generations. Members of “Generation Z” (born starting in the year 2000) will soon step into the spotlight as they begin to enter adulthood and take on financial responsibility. As today’s children grow into tomorrow’s young adults, banks and credit unions that understand them and how they want to move and manage money will be able to create strategies and tactics to capture their business.