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Smartphone users prefer Capital One when searching for a credit card: How digital marketing changes on the smartphone

SAN FRANCISCO – Insights from the Credit Card Digital Experience Benchmark

Unlike Europeans, Americans use credit cards for many of their daily purchases. Some people even have multiple credit cards sitting in their wallet, with each one serving a different type of purchase. In short, credit cards seem a necessity for adults living in the U.S.

The main establishments to issue credit cards are banks, but there are also numerous affiliate market machines such as CreditKarma.com that allow customers to compare credit cards. Seeing that the credit card industry is a saturated one featuring a great number of competitors, WUA set out to uncover the best practices that lead potential customers to choose one credit card services over others on both desktop and smartphone. The respondents of our study were told to imagine they were planning a holiday in the near future, and that they need to find and sign up for the credit card that best fits their needs. The results of our Digital Sales Scan reveal how credit card services can best present their product online, both on a desktop and a smartphone. Here, we specifically focus on the experience of searching for credit cards on a smartphone.

CapitalOne.com was the winner for the Credit Card Digital Experience Benchmark. Read more here.

 

A clean homepage goes a long way

What do Capital One and Discover, the top two performers of our Digital Sales Scan, have in common? When users first enter the websites on their smartphones, they are met with a neat homepage that can quickly guide them to whatever they need with ease. The navigation options on the homepages of both banks fill up 60% of the screen, and feature large icons and short texts like “find the right credit card” to make maneuvering around the website a breeze. And if a user wants more options, both banks make use of the recognizable “hamburger” icon at the top left corner. Making the homepage as easy to navigate as possible is reassuring for potential customers, and encourages them to continue further on their quest for a new credit card.

 

Keep a clear overview throughout the entire process

The tricky thing about mobile websites is the lack of space developers have to design and layout the information. Maintaining a clear overview of all the necessary details that come with finding a credit card isn’t easy to do, but it is something that cannot be overlooked. From the homepage to the application process, Capital One was ranked highest when it came to giving respondents a clear overview, with one respondent especially pleased about the way they “included the most information of each card up front to make the search even more convenient.” So how do they do this in a neat manner?

To start with, Capital One does a good job at summarizing all the important information regarding the credit card and places right beneath the product. They understand that important financial information should not be hidden, and if users want more information, they can always click on the button labeled ‘details.’ This button, along with most on their pages, can fold out or collapse, allowing the user to manage their oversight over the page Capital One also makes finding the right card simpler through the use of a filter, which is placed at the top of the screen. By filling in small details, such as credit score, the user will be left only with credit cards that that suit them.

>>Find the Digital Experience Benchmark results for Credit Cards – September 2017

 

American Express shows best practice in customer contact

Finding a credit card on a smartphone may have its drawbacks, but it also has some real benefits, if the page is designed right. Respondents searching for credit cards on a smartphone were especially pleased with how American Express places their contact details in clear sight on each page.Within the main menu and at the bottom of each page, the customer support line and Twitter handle are listed and clickable. This is especially useful on a smartphone as a click on the phone number will lead directly to a call. Making contact details easy to find is also a simple way for American Express to gain trust and show they are happy to communicate with customers.

Paid search engine results are of great importance on smartphones

While the design and layout work to keep customers on the website, paid search engine results work supremely well in getting smartphone users to the site. A look at the data shows us that paid search results brought Capital One 11% more traffic from a smartphone than it did from users on a desktop. In Citi’s case, 15% more smartphone users reached the site through paid results in comparison to desktop users. It seems smartphone users are more prone to click on paid search results than on a computer, likely because regular results are “below-the-fold” on smartphones. This is another reason why it pays off for credit card companies to bump their names up to the top of search engine results.

>>Find the Digital Experience Benchmark results for Credit Cards – September 2017

Web visitors told us how they found each website.

 

WUA’s Smartphone Digital Sales Scan

All the practices mentioned above are superb for boosting digital sales, but the rest of our data tells an even greater story. WUA independently measures the customer journey of online markets to discover who provides the best online customer experience and the best practices across industries. Based on this data, WUA’s digital experts can create a custom-tailored report for your website to improve the customer journey step-by-step. Each Digital Sales Scan report includes market best practices both inside and outside your industry, recommendations and customer feedback on each step of the customer journey, and screenshot analysis to help your team create a better website and drive conversion. Read more about the Digital Sales Scan here.

Want to know more about how the Digital Sales Scan will work for you? Contact Bo-Peter Laanen to find out more and consider expert analysis for your website.

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