Table of Contents
Issues and Insights
-
- Consumer loyalty is low and offering additional perks is a must as competition intensifies
- The facts
- The implications
- Building consumer trust is just as important as building a brand image
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need To Know
-
- PCWs are most used for insurance products, while credit cards & savings accounts are up-and-coming
- The FCA outlines its expectations for the future
- 23% of tablet owners have accessed a PCW on their device
Market Developments
-
- PCWs are well-ahead within the insurance market compared with other financial products
- There’s room to grow in the brand-led mortgage and current account markets
-
- Figure 15: First information sources used to research financial products before purchase, March 2015
Market Regulation
-
- FCA’s thematic review gives price comparison websites points for improvement
- FCA outlines further room for improvement
- CMA’s ban on agreements between PCWs and insurers will place further downward pressure on prices
Online Trends
-
- Smartphone and tablet ownership on the rise
-
- Figure 16: Household ownership of computers, tablets and smartphones, January 2012 – November 2014
- Managing finances online takes a top 3 spot in online activities
-
- Figure 17: Other online activities, April 2015
- Nearly 1 in 4 tablet owners have accessed a PCW from their device
-
- Figure 18: Other online activities on device, April 2015
Key Players – What You Need To Know
-
- Comparethemarket leads a competitive market landscape
- Gocompare, Moneysupermarket and Confused display similar consumer usage rates
- Google’s comparison service visited by 14% of consumers
- Comparethemarket.com leads the way in brand trust and differentiation
Market Share
-
- Comparethemarket leads the pack in a competitive market environment
-
- Figure 19: Market share, 2015
- Loyalty remains a problem for comparison sites
- The looming threat of Google’s comparison service
Competitive Strategies
-
- Comparethemarket.com
- Comparethemarket partners Cinema First to offer customers 2-for-1 cinema tickets
- Comparethemarket takes to Facebook to use video ads
- GoCompare.com
- Insurance company, Esure, buys majority share in Gocompare
- Gocompare increases TV-spending by sponsoring game show
- Moneysupermarket.com
- TV advert featuring ‘Dave’ contributes to a 5% increase in advertising spend
- Confused.com
- Confused.com partners with Motors.co.uk
- Confused.com introduces new characters alongside BRIAN
- Innovations
- TalktoTim.co.uk innovates the Travel Insurance comparison sector
Brand Perceptions and Social Media
-
- What you need to know
- Brand map
-
- Figure 20: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, May 2015
- Key brand metrics
-
- Figure 21: Key metrics for selected brands, May 2015
- Brand attitudes: Comparethemarket.com’s promotional activity boosts loyalty associations
-
- Figure 22: Attitudes, by brand, May 2015
- Brand personality: uSwitch.com struggles to create upbeat image in the face of strong advertisers
-
- Figure 23: Brand personality – macro image, May 2015
- Money.co.uk’s distant position suggests it lacks the common associations of the market
-
- Figure 24: Brand personality – micro image, May 2015
- Brand analysis
- Moneysupermarket.com appears to be in a strong position
-
- Figure 25: User profile of Moneysupermarket.com, May 2015
- Comparethemarket.com’s marketing strategies have provided an advantage over others
-
- Figure 26: User profile of Comparethemarket.com, May 2015
- uSwitch.com struggles to create an upbeat image
-
- Figure 27: User profile of uSwitch.com, May 2015
- Confused.com looking to use BRIAN promotion to strengthen positive attributes
-
- Figure 28: User profile of Confused.com, May 2015
- Gocompare.com may have benefitted from shift in advertising strategy
-
- Figure 29: User profile of Gocompare.com, May 2015
- Money.co.uk lacks awareness of other brands but needs to improve performance to current users too
-
- Figure 30: User profile of Money.co.uk, May 2015
Brand Advertising
-
- Advertising spend hits record levels of over £120 million as companies push marketing efforts
-
- Figure 31: Overview of above-the-line, direct mail and online display advertising expenditure in the price comparison websites market, 2010-15
- ‘Big Four’ price comparison websites dominate advertising spend
- Comparethemarket.com ramps up advertising spend
-
- Figure 32: Above-the-line, direct mail and online display advertising expenditure by selected financial aggregators, 2011/12-2013/14
- TV advertising rules, while radio spend comes in second
-
- Figure 33: Above-the-line, direct mail and online display advertising spend by brand and media type, 2014-15
- Nielsen Media Research advertising coverage
The Consumer – What You Need To Know
-
- Over 2 in 3 consumers have used a PCW to research insurance products
- 47% of consumers have used a PCW to purchase an insurance product
- Three key consumer segments: The Purchasers, Just Checking, and Non-users
- Most consumers don’t restrict themselves to just one PCW when researching or buying
- Laptop and desktop usage ahead, but tablets are up-and-coming
- Market coverage is a concern for 63% of consumers
- Only 16% are willing to pay a fee for a service which offers more detail
Insurance Product Research and Purchasing
-
- The majority of consumers have used PCWs to research insurance products within the last year
-
- Figure 34: Insurance product breakdown, March 2015
- 32% of consumers have purchased car insurance via a PCW
- The mainstream products boast superior conversion rates
-
- Figure 35: Conversion ratio, by product, March 2015
Key Consumer Segments
-
- A 50/50 split between purchasers and non-purchasers
-
- Figure 36: PCW usage consumer segments, May 2015
- The purchasers
- Most of the Purchasers have arranged multiple policies
-
- Figure 37: Number of products bought, May 2015
- A fifth of buyers use PCWs to purchase just a single insurance product
-
- Figure 38: Number of products bought, by insurance product breakdown, May 2015
Reasons for Not Purchasing Through Comparison Sites
-
- Just Checking group: Over half go on to check out the providers’ websites for a better deal…
- …while a quarter were looking for more product detail
-
- Figure 39: Reasons for not purchasing, May 2015
Price Comparison Site Usage
-
- Comparethemarket.com leads a competitive market landscape
-
- Figure 40: Price comparison site usage, May 2015
- The majority of consumers use multiple PCWs
-
- Figure 41: Repertoire of price comparison site usage, May 2015
- 1 in 4 consumers sticks to just one comparison site
-
- Figure 42: Repertoire of website usage, by website usage, May 2015
- Gocompare.com edges ahead of Moneysupermarket.com in terms of popularity among Purchasers
-
- Figure 43: Just checking group, by website usage, May 2015
- Figure 44: Purchasers, by website usage, May 2015
Device Usage
-
- Laptops and desktops are the most favoured devices for checking PCWs
-
- Figure 45: Device usage for accessing price comparison sites, May 2015
-
- Figure 46: Household ownership of computers, tablets and smartphones, January 2012 – November 2014
Concerns over Coverage and Product Details
-
- Complete market coverage is a concern for the majority of consumers
-
- Figure 47: Concerns over coverage and product details, May 2015
- Wariness of prices is an issue for many consumers
- A sizeable minority believe product detail is insufficient
Concerns over Convenience and Usability
-
- 50% of purchasers believe PCWs do not reward loyalty
- Simplicity is key for the consumers who feel overwhelmed by PCWs
-
- Figure 48: Concerns over convenience and usability, May 2015
- Having too many options can be almost as bad as having too few
Privacy Concerns
-
- Data privacy is a concern for a significant number of consumers
-
- Figure 49: Attitudes toward PCWs, May 2015
Attitudes towards Transparency and Coverage
-
- Service transparency should be a focus
-
- Figure 50: Attitudes toward transparency and coverage, May 2015
- Power purchasers are more likely to be willing to pay a fee for a comparison service
-
- Figure 51: Attitudes toward transparency and coverage, by Repertoire of purchasers, May 2015
Interest in Product Development
-
- Rewarding loyalty can win over the majority of consumers
- Over 1 in 3 consumers would be interested in a price comparison app for their smartphone or tablet
-
- Figure 52: Interest in PCW product development, May 2015
- Power purchasers are more open to the idea of service enhancements
- Consumers want better PCW engagement, but on their terms
-
- Figure 53: Attitudes toward PCWs, by Repertoire of product purchase, May 2015
Back to top