More than half - 54 percent - of online financial-product applicants abandon applications prior to submitting.

This is according to the results of a new comScore study, conducted with Forrester Research, seeking to examine consumer motivations in abandoning online applications, reports MarketingCharts.

Those online financial products include checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, auto insurance, brokerage accounts, mortgage loans, home equity loans, and personal loans.

The following are among the findings of the comScore/Forrester study.

Of those who initiated an online financial application but did not submit it…

• 49 percent said they had no intention of completing the application.
• That proportion was higher for deposit product applicants (58 percent).
• It was substantially lower for credit card applicants (32 percent).

The top reasons cited by those who did not intend to complete the application:

• Wanted more product information (23 percent)
• Not ready to apply (19 percent)
• Wanted to see whether they qualified for the product (14 percent)

Those who started an application with the intention of completing it but who ended up abandoning the application cited the following reasons for not completing the application:

• Changed their mind about applying online (12 percent)
• Had privacy/security concerns (11 percent)
• Wanted to speak to a salesperson regarding the product (11 percent)

"As more consumers research and purchase financial products on the web, the importance of understanding application abandonment will increase," said Forrester Research Senior Analyst Brad Strothkamp. "This study provides clear evidence that today's financial services sites have a ways to go at both understanding and solving this important issue."