Extending Hours: A Case Study
Fast-growing and highly respected, leading US retail bank wanted to understand the impact of extending hours.
- The client was investigating the impact of extending hours in two markets.
- Field management was unable to disaggregate whether extended hours were attracting new customers or simply spreading out current customer transactions over a longer period in the day.
- APT's Test and Learn for Sites™ solution found that extended hours were most successful when hours were increased by more than a certain threshold level and when executed in suburban communities with sufficient numbers of key target demographics segments (particularly commuter populations).
The Company:
A leading US retail bank with more than 1100 branches
The Challenge:
The client was investigating the impact of extending hours in two markets. The hours change was promoted through an intense marketing campaign focused on convenience banking. Management was hopeful that the change would increase market share and drive profits, but it was unclear whether or not the real and tangible costs associated with extended hours were being paid back through incremental revenue. Field management was unable to disaggregate whether extended hours were attracting new customers or simply spreading out current customer transactions over a longer period in the day.
The client looked to APT’s enterprise Test & Learn™ software to determine the effects of the program.
The Solution:
With the help of APT's Test and Learn for Sites™, the bank conducted an analysis to determine the impact by site and by market. Analysis of test branches, after adjusting for inherent natural noise in the retail network, revealed that the program was only successful under certain conditions. APT models found that extended hours were most successful when hours were increased by more than a certain threshold level and when executed in suburban communities with sufficient numbers of key target demographics segments (particularly commuter populations). Models were constructed to determine the best markets to target for further roll out, and the optimal number of hours for each site within those markets.
The Results:
APT's Test and Learn for Sites™ allowed management to understand changes in customer behavior caused by extending hours. Branch contribution growth was quantified by two driving factors, new customers opening checking accounts drove the greatest revenue lift and current customers deepening their relationship by purchasing higher margin investment and mortgage products which contributed most to improving branch bottom lines.
Next Steps:
