necessarily their desktop computers, augurs well
for growth prospects for e-tailers seizing upon
an increasingly ‘mobile-irst’ digital world.
What about inancial services? Again, this is
another sector that has been at the forefront of
the coronavirus-accelerated digital revolution.
It’s a conclusion we can reach on the basis of
such reports as this one from the Financial
Times, which indicated that “by May, more
than 45% of Americans had changed the way
they dealt with their bank”. The newspaper was
referring to a poll of 1,000 people by the FIS
consultancy. The report also suggested that
as banks in the US closed physical branches in
response to the crisis, there had been a 35% rise
in the number of digitally-deposited checks, and
an over 50% increase in online wire transactions.
A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY,
BUT ALSO POSSIBILITY
There’s plenty that we still don’t know about
how the remainder of the coronavirus crisis
will play out – and that includes the ultimate
destination of the “digital transformation”
agenda. Some of the grander possibilities are
perhaps not receiving the attention that they yet
could do, as beleaguered organizations around
the world prioritize protecting their bottom
lines. Or as UBS analyst Karl Keirstead has put
it: “The dream of digital acceleration is meeting
the reality of a still-prevalent focus on cost
savings resulting from the massive economic hit
that organizations absorbed in 2020.”
And of course, it’s one thing to turn to new
digital tools in response to the extremely
unusual circumstances of a global pandemic,