Energy providers in Ireland continue to slash prices, with the latest wave of cuts coming into effect in March of this year.
It’s no secret that the average Irish citizen won’t complain about lower prices on the market, but how exactly does it impact their behavior? With trended intelligence, Global Reviews has the answer.
Electricity prices were 67.8% lower in December 2023 compared to December 2022 [per CSO]. In Global Reviews’ 2022 Irish energy study, 49% of consumers selected a provider based on their prices. In Q4 2023? This dropped to 43% (below).
Over the same period, consumers who select a brand based on discounts declined from 24% to 19%. Visits to comparators Bonkers.ie and Switcher.ie, two sites that are popular with price-driven customers, were also down.
In short, lower prices equals less price influence. This presents opportunity for retailers. As the price wars are back on, the ability to win custom in other ways is rising again.
Digital optimisation is one area that’s proving more influential. In 2022, 11% of consumers selected an energy provider based on their website being ‘easy to use’, and 8% because the website ‘helped them to compare options’. In 2023, these increased to 15% and 12%, respectively.
The effect of that latter influencer is displayed across the entire customer journey. Before consumers go online to find a provider, there is a sense of dread at the effort required to find and compare the plethora of plan options that exist.
“it can be onerous trying to compare costs of various energy plans, which has gotten more complicated with the inclusion of smart meter energy plans”***
There are many providers in the Irish market, each of whom have multiple offerings. A consumer trying to find the best plan for their needs, from the most fitting provider, is left feeling overwhelmed.
And Irish energy brands are not making the task any easier. In Global Reviews’ Q4 2023 benchmark of the top eight Irish energy provider websites, plan comparison stood out as a pain point. Average success rates in comparison-based usability tasks** were a slow in the industry as anywhere in the world.
When a consumer goes online to find a new energy plan they must navigate a maze of price plans. With fingers crossed, they enter in hope rather than belief that they will stumble across the winning option.
Providers can do two things to help guide consumers through. On paper, they sound simple. In action, they present struggle.
Firstly, they can provide a swift route to plan information from the moment consumers land onsite. This is expected by consumers, and providers who don’t oblige receive negative sentiment.
“too much information to begin with no obvious path to go straight to compare plans”***
Secondly, they need to make comparing these plans as simple as possible.
Can visitors view the plans most relevant to them? Smart meter or standard? Fuel type? Existing or new customer? Can they compare the details most important to them? For example, comparing rates is the second most important website feature as rated by consumers (below).
Providers that reveal this information in streamlined journeys which utilise optimal design principles perform best. These are the brands that guide their visitors through the daunting maze. The brands that will indirectly benefit from market prices cuts more than their competition.
Those who don’t, not so much.
“I had to open and close different plans details to compare. This was time consuming and may deter the customer from signing up”****
*Participant response to ‘How do you feel when it comes to researching home energy plans?’.
**A comparison task is one which requires consumers to compare plan options to find the one which meets their specified needs.
***Participant response to ‘give us your thoughts on this homepage’.
**** Participant response to ‘give us your thoughts on this compare plans page’.
