Deliver Your News to the World

Savvy consumers want value and rewards: RBC Account Habits Poll


WEBWIRE

The 2007 RBC Account Habits Poll confirms Canadians are savvy consumers who are driven by value in the majority of their everyday decisions, and like to be rewarded for their loyalty too.

When RBC asked bank account holders to evaluate which is most important to them when making everyday decisions, they choose value first (80 per cent); simplicity second (66 per cent); and convenience third (64 per cent). Additionally, when survey respondents were asked about specific scenarios, “value” was the most important principle when buying a home (77 per cent), buying a car (71 per cent), investing (62 per cent), retirement planning (56 per cent), and vacationing (44 per cent). Convenience shares the top spot for grocery shopping (45 per cent) and banking (46 per cent).

The RBC Poll also indicates 94 per cent of respondents wish their bank would reward them for their business, while 92 per cent agree they do not want to pay a fee for going over their monthly transaction limit. Eighty-nine per cent also agreed they would like more value for their monthly account fees.

“Part of the reason we do these polls is to better understand the mindset and banking habits of consumers so that we can tailor our products and services to better meet their needs,” says Chris Barber, senior manager, Deposit Products. “We chose to focus on the principles of simplicity, convenience and value because they transcend banking and give us a sense of the tradeoffs people make when making a decision or a purchase. Our new line-up of personal accounts, with its savings, rebates and rewards, is the result of how our customers want to do their banking.”

When asked to further explore the notion of simplicity, 50 per cent indicated they have taken recent measures to simplify their lives financially. The most popular course of action was banking online (12 per cent). This was followed by consolidating bank accounts (10 per cent); hiring a financial planner or advisor (9 per cent); consolidating debts (7 per cent); and preparing a budget (6 per cent). All three principles were of greatest importance to women and older Canadians while Quebecers placed greater likelihood to make decisions based on simplicity and convenience.

Some other highlights from the RBC poll:

When it comes to recent efforts to simplify our lives, Quebecers are the most likely in Canada to stop worrying about the small stuff (17 per cent) or take a vacation (13 per cent), but the least likely to retire or quit work (four per cent).


Ninety-one per cent agreed they would “like to organize their life in simple ways”; 77 per cent agreed they “love all of the convenience today’s world offers”; 75 per cent affirmed “time is money”; and 61 per cent agreed with the statement “life is just too complicated today.”
These are some of the findings of an RBC poll conducted by Ipsos Reid between April 5 and10, 2007. The online survey is based on a randomly selected representative sample of 2,270 adult Canadians with a bank account. With a representative sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ± 2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample’s regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.



WebWireID40225





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.