CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Offering a mix of phone, Web interactivity and branches are key to credit unions developing deeper relationships with their members.

According to a Forrester Research study, The Banking Channel Popularity Contest, the Web and the branch are consumer favorites. The Web is most popular for banking and the branch is most popular for service interactions. A closer look at consumers reveals that for Gen Y, Gen X and younger boomers the Internet is the preferred channel for researching a new product–with the level of preference dropping as age increases. Older boomers and seniors tend to prefer the branch for research. In addition, across most of the age groups females tend to prefer the phone more and the Internet less than their male contemporaries. When it comes to opening a new account the branch wins across all generations and genders. Here's a look at some other interesting findings: