Banking consumer study 2025: Why advocacy is the key to loyalty and growth

Accenture’s 2025 Consumer Banking Report is out, and it highlights a powerful but often overlooked truth: while digital transformation has delivered convenience and scale, it’s also eroded the emotional connection between banks and their customers. As Accenture puts it, many banks are “functionally correct but emotionally devoid.”Here’s what financial institutions need to know—and how to respond.

Top findings

Digital transformation deteriorated relationships

Since 2011, the banking industry has invested more than $2.8 trillion in digital transformation. These investments have made mobile apps faster, onboarding more efficient, and services more accessible. But there's a downside: relationships now feel transactional, not relational. Automated experiences, while convenient, often lack the human touch that builds long-term loyalty.

Banks drown in a sea of sameness

Most major banks now boast mobile apps with ratings above 4.5 stars. The user experience is no longer a major differentiator—it’s a baseline expectation. Over half of respondents couldn’t recall their own savings rate, which makes competing on price unsustainable. When everyone’s tech is solid and rate shopping feels futile, price and features alone can’t drive meaningful differentiation.

Advocacy is the new growth engine

Accenture’s study found that financial institutions with the highest advocacy scores are growing revenue 1.7x faster than their peers. Advocacy goes beyond loyalty—it's about customers who actively recommend and promote their bank or credit union. It's emotional, not just transactional.

The four pillars of advocacy

To foster advocacy, banks and credit unions must focus on these four strategies:

• Reassure through trust and transparency
  ‍Build confidence with clear, consistent communication and ethical practices.
• Remember through personalization
  ‍Make customers feel known and understood by using data to tailor experiences.
• Delight through effortless interactions
  ‍Streamline touchpoints and deliver value in ways that feel intuitive and rewarding.
• Reward with meaningful benefits
  ‍Go beyond promotional offers—acknowledge loyalty with perks that genuinely impact customers' lives.

Next steps

Discover how Digital Onboarding can assist your bank or credit union in activating relationships, deepening engagement, and amplifying growth. Chat with us.