Abandon rates high for online finance application forms

A joint email survey and analysis of global consumer behavior has led comScore and Forrester Research to some interesting insights in to why financial product shoppers abandon online product applications.

by Helen Leggatt

Over half, 54 percent, of consumers who began to complete, or completed, a financial product application form abandon it before completing the process. Such are the findings of a joint study by comScore and Forrester Research.

Of that 54 percent, nearly half, 49 percent, had no intention of seeing the application process through to completion, found the survey. Many just wanted further details. Nearly a quarter, 23 percent, wanted more product information, 19 percent weren’t ready to apply and 14 percent purely wanted to see if they would qualify for the product.

“As more consumers research and purchase financial products on the Web, the importance of understanding application abandonment will increase,” said Forrester Research Senior Analyst Brad Strothkamp. “This study provides clear evidence that today’s financial services sites have a ways to go at both understanding and solving this important issue.”

Some online application forms employ a staged approach where each stage can be saved by the consumer. If, for any reason, the consumer needs to leave the form for any reason, they can save it and return to it another time.