Price Comparison Sites in Financial Services - UK - October 2017

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Scope of this Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The market
Lack of loyalty towards insurance providers leads consumers to PCWs…
…but other financial markets see far less movement
Figure 1: Switching activity of financial services product holders, December 2015, September 2016 (home insurance) and November 2016 (car insurance)
Companies and brands
The big four dominate the PCW market
Figure 2: Price comparison website usage in the last 12 months, July 2017
Leading players struggle to establish a point of difference
Figure 3: Attitudes, by price comparison website brand, July 2017
The consumer
Car and home insurance the most searched for…
…whilst few turn to PCWs to compare other financial products
Figure 4: Financial products researched through a price comparison website, July 2017
Consumers favour familiarity
Figure 5: Factors that influence consumers’ choice of price comparison websites, July 2017
Customer service could become a key comparison metric
Figure 6: Information that consumers would like to appear within a price comparison search, July 2017
Nearly three in four users compare comparison sites
Figure 7: Price comparison behaviours, July 2017
Interest in pro-active price comparison tools
Figure 8: Interest in features/services that could be offered by price comparison websites, July 2017
What we think
ISSUES AND INSIGHTS
PCWs could evolve in to PFMs
The facts
The implications
Breaking out of insurance
The facts
The implications
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Lack of loyalty towards insurance providers leads consumers to PCWs…
…but other financial markets see far less movement
Open Banking offers promise for PCWs….
….and presents new challenges
CMA investigation rules in favour of PCWs
MARKET ENVIRONMENT
Lack of loyalty towards insurance providers leads consumers to PCWs…
…but other financial markets see far less movement
Figure 9: Switching activity of financial services product holders, December 2015, September 2016 (home insurance) and November 2016 (car insurance)
New regulations aim to improve competition in retail banking
Figure 10: Open Banking incentives, June 2017
Open Banking offers promise for PCWs….
….and presents new challenges
CMA investigation rules in favour of PCWs
COMPANIES AND BRANDS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The big four dominate the PCW market
Comparethemarket rewards loyalty
Confused goes big with TV campaign
MoneySuperMarket looks to boost loyalty
Zoopla acquires Money.co.uk
Leading players struggle to obtain a point of difference
MARKET SHARE
The big four dominate the PCW market
Figure 11: Price comparison website usage in the last 12 months, July 2017
Over half of PCW users use multiple sites
Figure 12: Repertoire of price comparison websites used in the last 12 months, July 2017
Loyalty scheme allows CTM to stand out
COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
Comparethemarket (BGL Group)
Financial performance
Recent activity and strategic developments
Loyalty incentives
Confused.com (Admiral Group)
Financial performance
Recent activity and strategic developments
GoCompare.com Group
Financial performance
Recent activity and strategic developments
MoneySuperMarket Group
Financial performance
Recent activity and strategic developments
Zoopla Property Group (ZPG)
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING ACTIVITY
PCWs invest in ATL campaigns to remain ‘front of mind’
Figure 13: Above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by price comparison sites on financial services, 2012/13-2016/17*
Confused.com tripled its adspend in 2016/17
Figure 14: Above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by price comparison sites on financial services, by advertiser, 2014/15-2016/17*
TV accounts for two thirds of total expenditure
Figure 15: Above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by price comparison sites on financial services, by media type, 2016/17*
Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
BRAND RESEARCH
What you need to know
Brand map
Figure 16: Attitudes towards and usage of selected price comparison website brands, July 2017
Key brand metrics
Figure 17: Key metrics for selected brands, July 2017
Brand attitudes: Comparethemarket stands out from the crowd
Figure 18: Attitudes, by price comparison website brand, July 2017
Brand personality: Fun advertising boosts image of PCWs
Figure 19: Brand personality – Macro image, July 2017
Leading PCWs seen as helpful and reliable
Figure 20: Brand personality – Micro image, July 2017
Brand analysis
Comparethemarket.com buoyed by meerkat promotions
Figure 21: User profile of Comparethemarket.com, July 2017
MoneySuperMarket.com is highly trusted
Figure 22: User profile of MoneySuperMarket.com, July 2017
GoCompare.com viewed positively but lacks a point of difference
Figure 23: User profile of GoCompare.com, July 2017
uSwitch.com sees usage levels lag behind the big four
Figure 24: User profile of uSwitch.com, July 2017
Confused.com seen as less fun and vibrant than its main rivals
Figure 25: User profile of Confused.com, July 2017
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Car and home insurance the most searched for…
…whilst few turn to PCWs to compare other financial products
Insurance leads the way on the conversion front
Customer service could become a key comparison metric
Nearly three in four users compare comparison sites
Interest in pro-active price comparison tools
PRODUCT RESEARCH AND PURCHASE ACTIVITY
Car and home insurance the most searched for…
…whilst few turn to PCWs to compare other financial products
Figure 26: Financial products researched through a price comparison website, July 2017
Nearly two fifths of PCW users have arranged car insurance
Figure 27: Financial products purchased/arranged through a price comparison website, July 2017
Insurance leads the way on the conversion front
Figure 28: Conversion ratios, by financial services product, July 2017
One in five researched four or more products
Figure 29: Repertoire of financial products researched or purchased/arranged through a price comparison website, July 2017
MSE’s editorial expertise encourages people to switch a broader range of products
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CHOICE OF PCWS
Consumers favour familiarity
More reason for loyalty schemes?
Figure 30: Factors that influence consumers’ choice of price comparison websites, July 2017
A quarter of 18-24s are influenced by search engine results
Figure 31: Factors that influence consumers’ choice of price comparison websites, by age group, July 2017
INTEREST IN ADDITIONAL SEARCH FILTERS
Customer service could become a key comparison metric
Figure 32: Information that consumers would like to appear within a price comparison search, July 2017
Young people want to compare providers’ digital services
Figure 33: Interest in seeing range of online/mobile services within a price comparison search, by age group, July 2017
PRICE COMPARISON BEHAVIOURS
Nearly three in four users compare comparison sites
Figure 34: Price comparison behaviours, July 2017
Millennials are the mobile generation
Figure 35: Proportion of consumers who say they have used a smartphone to access price comparison sites, by generation, July 2017
INTEREST IN PRICE COMPARISON FEATURES
Interest in pro-active price comparison tools
Figure 36: Interest in features/services that could be offered by price comparison websites, July 2017
PCWs could evolve into PFMs
Data security is paramount
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES, ABBREVIATIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Abbreviations
Consumer research methodology