Going to the bank may seem a little like going to Starbucks these days.
In an effort to enhance the customer experience, companies like Bank of America, Citibank, and JPMorgan Chase are ditching the teller lines and adding couches, lounge areas, and open meeting spaces.
While customers do much of their transactional banking online, brick-and-mortar branches are being set up for advisory services for products such as mortgages, loans, and financial planning, Bloomberg reports.
Overall, the number of physical bank branches in the United States has been shrinking for years, especially since the pandemic forced customers to do all of their transactions online. Compared with pre-pandemic levels, teller transaction volume is down 40%, while prescheduled appointments with bankers have tripled in the last two years.
Big banking companies are renovating their physical branches at a frantic pace, often taking design cues from Aesop and Starbucks Corp., two companies known for adding locally specific flourishes to their stores while maintaining brand consistency.
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