“I really come in for the free Wi fi

Banks turn canada goose uk outlet to espressos

canada goose clearance Free Wi Fi, discounted cappuccinos, artwork, and a dancing robot are among the features banks across the United States are touting to convince customers that even in an era of smartphones it is still worth it to visit a canada goose factory sale bank branch. canada goose clearance

Canada Goose Outlet Banks are in a bind branches are costly and keep losing traffic as phone apps take over day to day banking, but they need them because that is where customers still get advice, resolve tricky account issues or deal with cash uk canada goose outlet and checks. Canada Goose Outlet

Canada Goose online JPMorgan Chase Co branches, for example, feature local art, Bank of America Corp highlights new technologies at its “technology bars,” and at HSBC Holdings PLCs Fifth Avenue flagship New York branch a humanoid robot Pepper greets visitors with a wave and a wiggle. Canada Goose online

However, wooing more customers with self service kiosks, touch screens, consulting zones and modern decor is just the start, consultants and designers say.

The challenge is how to turn that into more sales and brand loyalty.

canadian goose jacket “Innovative designs have proven to be successful in driving additional traffic,” said Brandon Larson, a managing canada goose clearance sale director at financial consultancy Novantas. canadian goose jacket

canada goose coats on sale “The thing people struggle with canada goose clearance is, how do they convert that traffic into new deep relationships with the institution?” In other words, can a cappuccino sell a mortgage? Reuters interviews with eight patrons at Capital One Financial Corp’s hybrid flagship bank caf in New York suggested it may be hard. canada goose coats on sale

Six said they were there to charge phones or enjoy an iced coffee, not canadian goose jacket to carry out any transactions or become bank customers.

buy canada goose jacket cheap “To me, the caf is more of a public co working space,” said Chai Lee, 45, who regularly relaxes there. “I really come in for the free Wi fi.” Lee, a Chase customer, said he had no plans to switch banks, canada goose store and https://www.canadagoosejacketonlines.ca that his main consideration when opening an account was getting the best interest rate. buy canada goose jacket cheap

And Pepper, for instance, can offer the weather forecast and help direct customers, but it is not set up to open a new bank account or answer complicated financial questions. Yet bankers say the eye catching features are more than just marketing stunts.

canada goose clearance sale Jeremy Balkin, HSBC’s head of innovation for the US market said the Fifth canada goose Avenue branch opened 20 percent more accounts in July, the first full month of Peppers assignment there, compared to a year earlier. canada goose clearance sale

“Clearly Pepper has been a seismic historic intervention,” Balkin said. “We don’t see it as marketing. Pepper is part of our family in the Canada Goose Jackets branch.”

Canada Goose Parka Capital One considers its cafe model so successful that it is adding new locations in Washington DC and San Diego to the existing network of 33 cheap Canada Goose cafes run in cooperation with coffee chain Peet’s Coffee. Canada Goose Parka

Lia Dean, Capital One’s head of bank marketing and retail, told Reuters Canada Goose Online that half of those frequenting its cafes were not customers, which was good because more people get familiar with the brand.

canada goose deals Dean would not discuss the effects on profits or new account openings, but said: “We would not be expanding them if we weren’t pleased.” canada goose deals

Canada Goose Jackets If done right, canada goose coats branch redesigns can boost sales and reduce costs by 60 to 70 percent thanks in part to lower staffing and space needs, according to a July study by McKinsey management consulting firm. Canada Goose Jackets

canada goose coats But doing it right means spending heavily on back end technology to bring information now scattered across various businesses in one place and investing in training so a single employee can help a customer with a range of questions. canada goose coats

Bank executives say integrating technology across apps, web portals, ATMs and physical locations is a complex, time consuming operation, but they are moving in that direction. “We recognize that our best customers and most engaged are ones using both branches as well as digital,” said Sol Gindi, chief administrative officer for Chase.

Canada Goose sale Around cheap canada goose uk 75 percent of Chases customers use both the bank’s mobile Canada Goose sale app Canada Goose online and its branches, he said. In response, Chase launched Finn, a digital only bank that targets younger customers, but also plans to add 400 new branches to its nationwide network of around 5,100 branches over the next five years. canada goose uk black friday Canada Goose sale

canada goose Similarly, Bank of America is canada goose coats on sale adding another 500 locations and redesigning 1,500 over buy canada goose jacket cheap the next four years. As of February, it has opened more than 160 new centers and renovated 620 after canada goose

closing some 1,500 branches in the wake Canada Goose Coats On Sale of the crisis.

“Is it worth the investment? It’s a question we’ve grappled with,” Jon Wolf, Bank of America’s senior vice president of Consumer Business Transformation, told Reuters. “However, I think were done grappling: branches are a critical part of Canada Goose Outlet what our customers want.”

canada goose black friday sale HSBC, which mainly targets international customers in the United States, recently made canada goose outlet “a sizable investment” to replace its main US technology platform, according to its spokesman Matt Klein. canada goose black friday sale

buy canada goose jacket Building on its technology investments the bank plans to canada goose black friday sale launch early next year a new mobile app and new online banking capabilities, Klein said. Now, HSBC’s app is rated 1.4 out of 5 in Apple Inc’s US App Store, well below its peers. buy canada goose jacket

The question becomes, though, how much to commit to branches that are important now, but Canada Goose Parka may end up like video rental stores upended by technology and changing consumer habits. It is a global dilemma, but for banks in the United States the challenge is especially daunting.

canada goose store While rivals in parts of Europe and Asia are further ahead with their digital products and branch redesigns and their customers more comfortable shifting online, US banks find it hard to compete without a strong branch network. canada goose store

Those that shuttered thousands of branches to slash costs in the aftermath of the 2007 2009 financial crisis ended up losing customers or deposits. Yet with branch networks estimated to account for 10 to 30 percent of total costs, investors have been pushing executives to make branches work harder.

Rising interest rates and growing importance of deposits as a low cost financing source canada goose uk shop have only added urgency to banks’ search for the best branch strategy.