Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- DCTs market study identifies opportunities for improvement
- Increasing competition will bring both opportunities and challenges
- Companies and brands
- Comparethemarket.com is the most popular PCW for finance
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- Figure 1: Price comparison websites used for researching financial services products, September 2018
- PCWs are viewed positively, but need to do more to differentiate
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- Figure 2: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, August 2018
- Banks adopt marketplace models
- Amazon rumoured to be launching an insurance PCW
- Advertising spend remains steady in 2017/18
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- Figure 3: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by price comparison websites on financial services, 2013/14-2017/18
- The consumer
- PCWs most popular for comparing insurance
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- Figure 4: Products researched through a price comparison website, September 2018
- High purchase rates for insurance following research
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- Figure 5: Products purchased through a price comparison website, by products researched through a price comparison website, September 2018
- Open Banking could help solve product frustrations
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- Figure 6: Frustrations experienced when using a price comparison website, September 2018
- Two in five would give a PCW access to their data
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- Figure 7: Likelihood of sharing financial data with a price comparison website, September 2018
- Security needs to be guaranteed if brands want people to share data
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- Figure 8: Concerns with sharing data with a price comparison website, September 2018
- One PCW isn’t sufficient for research
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- Figure 9: Attitudes towards price comparison websites, September 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- The tech threat: should existing providers fear the likes of Amazon?
- The facts
- The implications
- Rewards breed false loyalty
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- DCTs market study identifies opportunities for improvement
- Increasing competition will bring both opportunities and challenges
Market Environment
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- CMA’s market study identifies opportunities for improvement
- Increasing competition will bring both opportunities and challenges
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Comparethemarket.com is the most popular PCW for finance
- PCWs are viewed positively, but need to do more to differentiate
- Banks adopt marketplace models
- Amazon rumoured to be launching an insurance PCW
- Advertising spend remains steady in 2017/18
Market Share
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- Comparethemarket.com is the most popular PCW for finance
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- Figure 10: Price comparison websites used for researching financial services products, September 2018
- A third have used only one site
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- Figure 11: Number of price comparison websites used to research financial services products, September 2018
Brand Research
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- What you need to know
- Brand map
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- Figure 12: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, August 2018
- Key brand metrics
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- Figure 13: Key metrics for selected brands, August 2018
- Moneysupermarket.com is most closely associated with trust
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- Figure 14: Attitudes, by brand, August 2018
- Comparethemarket.com most strongly associated with fun
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- Figure 15: Brand personality – macro image, August 2018
- Confused.com and Gocompare.com viewed less favourably than other brands
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- Figure 16: Brand personality – micro image, August 2018
- Brand analysis
- Comparethemarket.com stands out from other leading PCWs
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- Figure 17: User profile of Comparethemarket.com, August 2018
- Moneysupermarket.com could benefit from more advertising continuity
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- Figure 18: User profile of Moneysupermarket.com, August 2018
- uSwitch.com viewed positively despite lower usage
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- Figure 19: User profile of uSwitch.com, August 2018
- Confused.com takes on new brand image
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- Figure 20: User profile of Confused.com, August 2018
- Gocompare.com looks to grow as an independent company
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- Figure 21: User profile of Gocompare.com, August 2018
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Accepted-only product results
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- Figure 22: Realrates.com results image
- Automated switching
- Do we need a comparison site for comparison sites?
- Amazon rumoured to be launching an insurance PCW
- Reverse marketplace Honcho set to launch
- Banks adopt marketplace models
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Advertising spend remains steady in 2017/18
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- Figure 23: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by price comparison websites on financial services, 2013/14-2017/18
- Comparethemarket.com remains as the highest spender
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- Figure 24: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by price comparison websites on financial services, by advertiser, 2015/16-2017/18
- TV accounts for more than two thirds of total spend
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- Figure 25: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by price comparison websites on financial services, by media type, 2017/18
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- PCWs most popular for comparing insurance
- High purchase rates for insurance following research
- Open Banking could help solve product frustrations
- Two in five would give a PCW access to their data
- Security needs to be guaranteed if brands want people to share data
- One PCW isn’t sufficient for research
Product Research
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- Two in three use PCWs to search for insurance…
- …but other financial services products lag behind
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- Figure 26: Products researched through a price comparison website, September 2018
- Younger users more likely to use PCWs for more than just insurance
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- Figure 27: Products researched through a price comparison website, by age, September 2018
Purchase Activity
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- 3 in 4 go on to purchase car insurance after researching it
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- Figure 28: Products purchased through a price comparison website, by products researched through a price comparison website, September 2018
Frustrations Using Price Comparison Websites
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- Open Banking could help solve product frustrations
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- Figure 29: Frustrations experienced when using a price comparison website, September 2018
- Faster applications times are a key selling point
- Non-insurance customers more likely to have experienced frustrations
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- Figure 30: Frustrations experienced when using a price comparison website, by products researched, September 2018
Data Sharing with Price Comparison Websites
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- Two in five would give a PCW access to their data
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- Figure 31: Likelihood of sharing financial data with a price comparison website, September 2018
- Likelihood to share data is higher among younger generations
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- Figure 32: Likelihood of sharing financial data with a price comparison website, September 2018
Important Factors When Sharing Data
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- Users will expect sensible use of their data
- Security needs to be guaranteed if brands want people to share data
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- Figure 33: Concerns with sharing data with a price comparison website, September 2018
Attitudes towards Price Comparison Websites
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- One PCW isn’t sufficient for research
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- Figure 34: Attitudes towards price comparison websites, September 2018
- Regular usage will make apps more relevant
- FinTech bank marketplace models appeal to comfortable Millennials
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- Figure 35: Price Comparison Websites in Financial Services – CHAID – Tree output, September 2018
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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