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Capturing consumer attention has always been at the heart of winning revenue and loyalty for businesses. But in a world where digital and social media use have skyrocketed, consumer attention is increasingly scarce. Financial institutions must combat diminishing consumer attention span and exponentially rising advertising costs, while continuing to ease consumer financial stress and increase their bottom line. Using financial management services to drive user engagement can be an effective strategy to win the race for consumer attention. A recent global study by Yahoo and OMD Worldwide shows that Gen Z consumers lose active attention for ads after just 1.3 seconds—less time than any other age group.[1] As Gen Z gradually becomes a larger segment of the buying population, it’s crucial to attract their attention and gain their trust, along with that of other key demographics like millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers. The companies that succeed in standing out from the competition are those who can provide services that consumers value and keep them coming back to engage. A study by Harvard Business Review found that “highly engaged customers lead to a 23% increase in share of wallet, profitability, revenue and relationship growth.”[2] This shows that offering these services can bring highly desirable benefits to consumers while also generating valuable revenue opportunities for businesses. Companies that deliver solutions that consumers need can build loyalty, create cross-sell and upsell opportunities to gain a greater share of wallet, and foster a sticky relationship with their customers. We have found that financial management solutions can be a powerful way to engage consumers while giving them services that they expect from their financial institutions. Financial management services can capture consumer attention Experian’s Digital Financial Manager™, for example, can help providers like banks, credit unions, and other institutions identify growth opportunities, while delivering much needed support and guidance to consumers looking to improve their financial well-being. Services like this could keep customers engaged and help increase your revenue. Our partners see up to a 30% increase in monthly active subscribers when Digital Financial Manager™ is added to Experian’s credit education experience.[3] Consumers may open twice as many credit cards and three times as many savings accounts when they regularly use financial management insights. In addition, our partners can drive further engagement with financial alerts, averaging up to a 53% open rate and a 75% post-alert login.[3] Research indicates that consumers want to see and manage all of their finances in a single place, rather than logging into multiple different accounts. Customers have been shown to link up to an average of 8.9 financial accounts across institutions,[4] providing partners with greater visibility into their customers’ financial habits. In addition, consumers who consolidate their accounts could save time and reduce stress when managing their finances. This is a crucial benefit, as stress can have a seriously negative impact on mental health and well-being. The impact of financial stress Financial stress is becoming increasingly common in consumers. In tough market conditions where this stress is putting a strain on consumer finances, consumers are looking for help. Most people need help managing their finances, but many of them don’t know how or where to get it. Less than 30% of Americans have a solid financial plan in place[5] and lacking financial knowledge cost individuals an average of $1,819 in 2022.[6] Without strong support from a trusted source, consumers won’t be well equipped to improve their financial health and credit standing, which can make it difficult for them to remain loyal customers to your business. Consumers aren’t the only ones experiencing financial difficulty. The banking and financial services industries are facing significant challenges as well. Challenges in the finance industry Costs associated with digital advertising have risen dramatically for financial institutions. Digital ad spending for the U.S. financial services industry reached $21 billion in 2020 and is predicted to reach $30.75 billion by the end of 2023.[7] In addition, banking has a $4.98 cost per click, the sixth highest average in the industry.[8] These are just a few of the many challenging market conditions hurting businesses’ bottom lines and making it difficult to acquire and engage customers. By offering a financial management solution, you have the potential to offset rising costs by fostering a more engaged customer base whose continued business will reliably maintain and grow your revenue. How to start a financial wellness program Empower consumers with tools to help manage their credit and finances in a single experience, and drive platform engagement with insights and recommendations that can help them reach their goals sooner. A few steps to help you get started: Identify your revenue and growth goals Whether you’re looking to acquire new customers, drive engagement and retention, or create upsell and cross-sell opportunities, a financial wellness program could help you increase wallet share and strengthen customer affinity.  Provide in-demand offerings Your program should focus on services that customers expect from their financial institutions, such as credit education, financial management, identity protection and restoration, and data and device protection.  Capitalize on customer engagement to create upsell and cross-sell opportunities With in-demand services, you could drive further engagement with your customers and meet their needs with aggregated financial data, offer increased credit limits, and additional deposit accounts as customers become qualified.  Visit our website to learn more about Digital Financial Manager™. [1]Insider Intelligence, Gen Z has a 1-second attention span. That can work to marketers’ advantage. 2022. [2]Gitnux. The Most Surprising Customer Engagement Statistics in 2023. [3]Experian D2C Financial Management reported as of May 2023 (based on Experian.com member engagement with similar features). [4]Experian Employee Benefits Financial Management as of May 2023. [5] BusinessDIT, The State of Financial Planning, April 2023. [6] National Financial Educators Council, Cost of Financial Illiteracy Survey, 2023. [7]Statista, Financial services industry digital advertising spending in the US, Jan 2023. [8]Insider Intelligence, Avg. CPC on keywords for select US industries, Sep 2022. Disclosure: This article is provided for general guidance and information.  It is not intended as, nor should it be construed to be, legal, financial or other professional advice.  Please consult with your attorney or financial advisor to discuss any legal issues or financial issues involved with credit decisions.

Experian Automotive has updated our Electric Vehicles 2022 Year-in-Review Infographic Report with new 2023 Half-Year insights. In the previous report, we shared that over 6% of new, retail registrations were for electric vehicles.  As we evaluated the current state of the Electric Vehicle Market for the first half of 2023 (January-June registrations), the percentage of new, retail registrations for electric vehicles has increased to over 7.5%. There are several factors driving consumer adoption of electric vehicles in the United States, including: Environmental concerns: Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of transportation, and EVs produce zero emissions at the tailpipe. Government incentives: Many state and federal governments offer incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles, such as tax credits and rebates. Falling battery costs: The cost of lithium-ion batteries, the key component of EVs, has fallen in recent years, making EVs more affordable for consumers. Increasing availability of EV models: Automakers are releasing a growing number of EV models, giving consumers more choices to fit their needs and budgets. Despite the progress that has been made, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed to accelerate EV adoption in the United States. These challenges include: Lack of charging infrastructure: There is a need for more public charging stations, especially in rural areas and along major highways. High upfront cost: EVs can still be more expensive to purchase than gasoline-powered vehicles, even after factoring in government incentives. Range anxiety: Some consumers are concerned about the range of EVs, which can be limited compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. Despite the challenges, the future of electric vehicles in the United States is bright. Automakers are investing heavily in EV development, and the number of EV models available to consumers is expected to continue to grow. Additionally, state and federal governments are taking steps to support EV adoption, such as investing in charging infrastructure and offering incentives for consumers and businesses to purchase If you’d like to learn more about the current state of the Electric Vehicle market and buyer and how that market is growing and changing, check out our Updated Electric Vehicles Year in Review Infographic.

This article was updated on October 31, 2023 In a series of articles, we talk about understanding the different types of fraud and how to solve for them. This article will explore first-party fraud and how it's similar to biting into a cookie you think is chocolate chip, only to find that it’s filled with raisins. The raisins in the cookie were hiding in plain sight, indistinguishable from chocolate chips without a closer look, much like first-party fraudsters. What is first-party fraud? First-party fraud refers to instances when an individual makes a promise of future repayments in exchange for goods or services without the intent to repay. The first-party fraudster might accomplish this by applying for a loan or credit card they won’t pay back or misrepresenting their financial situation to get a more favorable rate. First-party fraud sometimes presents via “mules” or consumers who are persuaded to use their own information to obtain credit or merchandise on behalf of a larger fraud ring. This type of fraud has become especially prevalent as more consumers are active online. Money mules constitute up to 0.3% of accounts at U.S. financial institutions, or an estimated $3 billion in fraudulent transfers. First-party fraud is often miscategorized as credit loss and written off as bad debt, which causes problems when businesses later try to determine how much they’ve lost to fraud versus credit risk, and then make future lending decisions. How does first-party fraud impact me? Firstly, there are often substantial losses associated with first-party fraud. An imperfect first-party fraud solution can also strain relationships with good customers and hinder growth. When lenders have to interpret actions and behavior to assess customers, there’s a lot of room for error and losses. Those same losses hinder growth when, as mentioned before, businesses anticipate credit losses that aren’t actually credit losses. This type of fraud isn’t a single-time event, and it doesn’t occur at just one point in the customer lifecycle. It occurs when good customers develop fraudulent intent, when new applicants who have positive history with other lenders have recently changed circumstances, or when seemingly good applicants have manipulated their identities to mask previous defaults. Finally, first-party fraud impacts how your organization categorizes and manages risk – and that’s something that touches every department. Solving the first-party fraud problem First-party fraud detection requires a change in how we think about the fraud problem. It starts with the ability to separate first- and third-party fraud to treat them differently. Because first-party fraud doesn’t have a victim, you can’t work with the person whose information was stolen to confirm the fraud. Instead, you’ll have to work implement a consistent monitoring system and make a determination internally when fraud is suspected. As we’ve already discussed, the fraud problem is complex. However with a partner like Experian, you can leverage the fraud risk management strategies required to perform a closer examination and the ability to differentiate between the types of fraud so you can determine the best course of action moving forward. Additionally, our robust fraud management solutions can be used for synthetic identity fraud and account takeover fraud prevention, which can help you minimize customer friction to improve and deepen your relationships while preventing fraud. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how Experian is using our identity expertise, data, and analytics to improve identity resolution and detect and prevent all types of fraud. Contact us