Why Mobile Capture Will Become More Important (Hint: Millennials)

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

A new study shows millennials want to digitize commerce with their cameras. The Mitek survey, performed through Zogby Analytics, found that of the 1,006 millennials (age 18 to 34) with smartphones, 68 percent would rather take a picture than type, and 83 percent believe mobile capture will be a part of all mobile transactions in the next five years.

The study found 96 percent of millennials surveyed consider the camera crucial to their smartphone and that millennials are using their cameras for commerce. Of those surveyed, 54 percent have made mobile bank deposits by taking a picture of their checks, 42 percent have made decisions on where to spend money based on what the organization allowed the consumer to accomplish via a mobile device, and 28 percent want to enroll, says the report, “for everything from a new credit card to a gym membership by taking a picture of their driver’s license.”

The report states 70 percent of millennials have abandoned a mobile device data entry process — with the primary reason (31 percent of respondents) that it was “too slow” and another common reason (23 percent) was that the vendor already “had too much information.”  

James B. DeBello, Mitek president and CEO explained in a statement about the report’s release: “The love of snapping selfies could be written off as a fad, but millennials are telling us that this is how they want to bank, shop, find healthcare, and enroll in classes. With an estimated 86 million millennials, 7 percent more than the baby boomers generation, that’s a lot of spending power and too big of a market population to ignore.”

“Business and banks especially need to offer or enhance their mobile capabilities for picture-based communication if they are going to remain relevant. Millennials and their mobile device cameras will ultimately change commerce from the written word, to a picture-based experience,” said DeBello.

To access the full report, click here.

An infographic is here.