1

Does this sentence make sense?

"In the world of banking today, convenience is the new loyalty."

I think it means convenience is the new reason for a customer to be loyal to a bank. However, does it make sense to call "convenience" a "loyalty"?

Or am I being too nitpicky? The writer is obviously trying to come up with a cute spin on a trendy expression ("30 is the new 20").

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    I don't think you're being too picky. It sounds like it's saying that you can trust the bank to be loyal because it's convenient, which makes no sense.
    – MAA
    Commented Jul 21, 2017 at 17:30
  • No. I've never ever heard a bathroom referred to as "a loyalty".
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Jul 21, 2017 at 17:41
  • 1
    @MAA I think it's the other way around: it's the customer's loyalty to the bank which has given way to the customer's preference for the most convenient medium for financial services; it means that banks can't count on customers' loyalty but must strive to be more convenient.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Jul 21, 2017 at 18:53
  • I can see that too, either way it is unclear.
    – MAA
    Commented Jul 21, 2017 at 18:54
  • IMO, it not saying convenience is ~a~ loyalty, but that convenience is what makes customers stick the way loyalty did in the past. I am assuming the audience is within the industry and financial analysts. Y is the new X is hardly an original structure; it's been around for decades within creative businesses(to the point that it's probably cliche, actually). I believe the message is that while loyalty was enough for banks to retain customers (one of the key metrics over all investor value of a bank), the modern consumer would jump ship more quickly if they saw more convenience elsewhere
    – Tom22
    Commented Jul 21, 2017 at 20:26

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

I can see how this could make sense. (Although, without the context it is a stab in the dark as to the writer's intended meaning.)

Perhaps the writer is trying to say, 'convenience' has replaced 'loyalty' for the buzzword we'll use for promoting our company in advertisements.

Just think of how the commercials have changed in theme over the years...

10 to 20 years ago was about 'loyalty':

10 or 20 years ago, commercials and marketing used to be all about loyalty -- bank to customer and customer to bank. Think of grandpas taking their grandkids to open their first account and saying 'Hi' to all the tellers by name. That type of advertisement used to sell.

Today is about 'convenience':

People get more excited about convenience when looking for everyday solutions and products. So, the banking advertisements focus on the ease of making quick transactions. For example, you might see a customer doing everything through their smartphone without ever seeing a familiar smiling face.

"Convenience is therefore the new loyalty."

Improve this answer
2
  • 2
    Despite absent context, I would assume this to be the case. In the event of "Y is the new X", we can assume the idea of Y superseding X.
    – psosuna
    Commented Jul 21, 2017 at 17:41
  • 2
    Y is the new X is a very normal idiom these days. There is even a TV title ("Orange is the new Black" which has 5 full seasons already) showing it's made the "with it" lingo. I pretty sure it's been a standard term in creative industries for decades now, almost certainly to the point of being cliche within them. Simply put "Y is what X used to be" and assumes that the audience knows exactly what "x used to be" with a heavy implication that "Y" is 'with the times" and "X is an antiquated focus" .. that's my take at least.
    – Tom22
    Commented Jul 21, 2017 at 20:28

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .