In this US study from the American Bankers Association generational differences start to display clues about the future.
Online banking is the clear winner, and this flies in the face of the current push to build branches.
When consumers were asked what banking method they use most often, branches topped the poll with 32% of the vote, followed by online and ATM channels, each with 26%, and telephone and postal methods bringing up the rear at five per cent apiece.
However, generational differences had a strong influence on how respondents answered. For example, banking at a local branch was the clear favorite of nearly half of those over the age of 55, but only 175 of those under 34 said they use branches most often. In fact, younger customers ranked branches behind online banking (35%) and ATM’s (33%). Older customers said the opposite with 47% preferring to bank by branch, followed by ATM’s (20%) and online (13%).
Source: Finextra: Generation gap widens in banking channel mix
tags: online+banking, branch
Bankwatch 
Far be it from me to promote the importance of branches, but this report alone isn’t evidence enough that branches aren’t the way to go. If you believe that the needs of younger customers over time will change such that they want to visit a branch, then the push to build branches is reasonable.
Personally, I don’t believe that premise, so the push for branches doesn’t make sense to me either. However, there are lots of people — bank executives included — who believe that as customers get older they’ll stop fiddling about on that silly computer thing and go to a branch where they belong.
True, the report is only directional. I was thinking though, that at a minimum, the design and nature of branches should be re-examined rather than proliferate the traditional office/ teller/ counter layout.