An investigation into the switching process in retail banking services

Abstract Losing customers can have a detrimental impact on a bank's market share and profit. Despite these negative effects, few studies have sought to investigate fully the process of defection. Proposes, therefore, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the process of switching retail banking services by investigating the problems that influence both switching behaviour and complaints made prior to exit. Empirical evidence was drawn from 694 mail surveys collected from banking customers in Australia and New Zealand. The reasons for switching banks were classified into three main problem areas: service failures, pricing problems and denied services. Results indicated that problems with pricing had the most important impact on switching behaviour. In contrast, customers tended to complain more often about service failures prior to exiting the firm. This finding suggests that customers may be staying silent about the problems that are most important in their decision to exit the firm.