how price comparison websites affect market performance in the uk
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How Comparison Websites Affect Market Performance in the UK
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What is a Price Comparison Website?
A vertical search engine that shoppers use to filter and compare products based on price, features, and other criteria.
Aggregates product listings from many different retailers but do not directly sell products themselves
Commonly used to compare insurance (car, home, travel) and financial products such as savings and current accounts
Rapidly increasing in popularity among consumers and are a key distribution channel for retail general insurance (GI) products, especially for private motor insurance. It is estimated that one third (1) of the 26.6m(2) motor policies written in 2013 were sold through PCWs
Source: TR14/11: Price comparison websites in the general insurance sector www.wikipeddia.com
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How Price Comparison Websites Work
Price comparison websites work best in commodity markets such as car and home insurance.
These markets are defined by relatively high product comparability and low consumer involvement and loyalty. Consumers assume little difference between products and are considered low risk by most.
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How Price Comparison Websites Work
They collect data through a data feed file. Merchants prepare these data files and make them available to the shopping search engines. This data is then imported by the comparison website.
Consumers select which service they require e.g Car Insurance, Credit Card etc and then enter in some personal details before a list of quotes are shown from a range of suppliers.
Products for individuals such as insurance will be priced in accordance with the individuals' circumstances and personal information.
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How Price Comparison Websites Make Money
Advertising on the website
Sponsored listings, whereby companies pay to have their products appear at the top of search results.
Commission – Consumers pay around £650 million a year in commission (www.moneywise.co.uk)
Source: www.ehow.com
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Why Consumers use Price Comparison Websites
There are 3 main reasons why consumers use Price Comparison Websites:
Consumers see little or no difference in product, service or benefits between companies
To locate the lowest possible price on a specific item from a merchant with a good reputation (cost-driven)
To compare prices for a specific product or service, accessing information and reviews in order to make a selection
Source: www.ehow.com
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What do Consumers use Price Comparison Websites for?
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Price Comparison Website Usage
With price sensitivity now an important part of how the market is assessed by consumers, the roles available to marketers have changed.
Over the last decade, companies have had to become more sophisticated in how they generate their prices in response to the popularity of aggregator sites.
Some 56% of buyers had used an aggregator in the last two years, while 52% switched or purchased directly through one of these platforms, according to a report from Consumer Futures.
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Who are the Key Players?
The four price comparison websites (PCW) with the greatest market presence:
www.gocompare.comwww.moneysupermarket.comwww.comparethemarket.comwww.confused.com
85% of PCW users have used one or more of the big four websites
Generating awareness for these sites is hugely important and to do this many of them have created some very noticeable and annoying TV adverts
Source:www.marketingmagazine.co.ukConsumer Futures ArticlePrice comparison websites: consumer perceptions and experiences ArticleA report by RS Consulting for Consumer Futures
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Key Player: Gocompare.com
Gocompare was the first comparison site to focus on displaying product features rather than just listing prices
It provides a comparison service for vehicle, home, travel and pet insurance, breakdown cover, gas and electricity, broadband, loans, credit cards, mortgages and other financial products through preferred providers such as Energylinx and Experian
Based on independent research by Consumer Intelligence 01/09/14 to 30/09/14, www.gocompare.com was rated as the no.1 price comparison site in the UK
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Key Player: Gocompare.com
2010 2014
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Key Player: Moneysupermarket.com
A British based Price Comparison Website specialising in financial services
The website enables consumers to compare prices on a range of products, including mortgages, credit cards and loans
In 2013, MoneySuperMarket achieved revenues of £225.6 million for the full year
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Key Player: Moneysupermarket.com
2011 2014
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Key Player: Comparethemarket.com
A UK Price Comparison Website that is part of the BGL Group
Comparethemarket.com launched in 2006 as a car and van insurance comparison site offering customers the chance to compare quotes from a range of providers. Over the years they have grown and developed, introducing new products including home insurance, bike insurance, and money products such as credit cards, mortgages and loans.
In 2013 comparethemarket.com was voted Best Website in the Comparison Sector by websiteoftheyear.co.uk
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Key Player: Comparethemarket.com
2009 2014
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Key Player: Confused.com
Confused.com was the first price comparison website in the UK and is a part of the Admiral Group, a motor insurance company.
They started as a car insurance price comparison website and since then has developed to specialize in general insurance and financial services.
Confused.com now offers their customers to compare prices of trusted household names for car insurance, home insurance, gas, electricity, holidays, travel insurance, pet insurance and money products such as credit cards, savings and life insurance.
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Key Player: Confused.com
2012 2014
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Consumer Perception and Experience
77% of consumers used a PCW to switch car insurance
37% used a PCW to switch their energy supplier and home insurance.
Usually, most Price Comparison Sites users would check 2 or 3 websites before making a decision
They are concerned of their privacy by giving away too much information.
“Around 10 million people use Price Comparison Websites each year in the UK. They're quick, convenient and save us a lot of time shopping around. But not many of us realise that we're paying around £650 million a year in commission for the privilege.”www.moneywise.co.uk
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How Price Comparison Websites have Changed the UK Market for Consumers
Comparison Websites have delivered a positive change to the UK insurance market
They have:
Increased choice of products
Weakened the brands of suppliers
Made products and services transparent for consumers
Encouraged customers to shop around for their insurance policy’s
Reinforce that many products offer exactly the same benefits
Source: The ABI’s (association of British Insurers) response to the FCA’s review of Price Comparison Websites, March 2014 https://www.abi.org.uk/~/media/Files/Documents/Consultation%20papers/2014/03/FCA%20Thematic%20Review%20of%20Price%20Comparison%20Websites.pdf
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PCWs are now the dominant distribution channel in some key insurance markets
They allow new insurers to enter the mass market very quickly and with a limited budget
The ‘big four’ PCWs have a strong position within the market, who have a large number of insurers on their panel. However they are not always as keen at maintaining their relations with insurers, as they are sometimes in a powerful negotiating position compared with insurers
Insurers have also found PCWs challenging when change is required in the market that directly benefits customers but not PCWs
How Price Comparison Websites have Changed the UK Market for Insurers
Source: The ABI (association of British Insurers)
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How Price Comparison Websites Affect Market Performance in the UK
According to The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), many price comparison websites are failing consumers' expectations, while a number are breaking the rules. Plus, it shows that consumers were not being given the right information to help them make decisions.
Some sites are owned by insurance companies or insurance brokers, and are failing to flag up a potential conflict of interest. Gocompare.com is 50% owned by Esure, an insurance company and Confused.com, is owned by Admiral Insurance. However, the site providers claim that they are in completely separated business.
According to www.dailymail.co.uk, it shows that Price Comparison websites 'collude with insurers and push prices up‘. Industry watchdogs claim some comparison websites make deals with insurers to get an exclusive price, making their website the cheapest for a certain product. Watchdogs even found evidence that some websites threaten to blacklist insurance companies if they do not agree to exclusive deals - resulting in huge loss of business for the firms. Both moneysupermarket.com and confused.com said they do not believe that the deals 'are necessary for their business model'
Source: www.bbc.com, www.dailymail.co.uk, www.sky.com, www.moneywise.co.uk
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How Price Comparison Websites Affect Market Performance in the UK
"There is a lot of money spent through the comparison websites - because they charge companies likes us and the Big
Six and independents a rate of commission.
"If that rate was a lot lower, or non-existent, the bills to customers would be
lower, because our costs would be lower.“
Ramsay Dunning Group General Manager of
Co-operative Energy
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Price comparison websites continue to squeeze out big insurance brands according to Stickyeyes latest online financial services report
Price comparison websites, alongside editorial website MoneySavingExpert.com, continue to dominate the online financial search market, at the expense of traditional brands such as HSBC, Barclays and Natwest
HSBC suffered a 77% loss of market share for current account products, compared to Q1 2013
Five comparison services combine to hold 67% of the overall click share in the highly competitive car insurance market and 78% in the home insurance market.
How Price Comparison Websites Affect Market Performance in the UK
Source: Stickyeyes Intelligence Report
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According to Skynews, it has been revealed that customers may not be shown cheaper tariffs on comparison websites from suppliers who weren't paying a commission.
An Ofgem Confidence Code is a regulator for price comparison websites. Under this, sites do not have to declare how much commission they earned but are meant to display an easily accessible list of who their commercial partners are and display tariffs in a "fair and unbiased way".
Out of the major price comparison sites, there are only two signed up including uSwitch and MoneySuperMarket. And to sign up, it is still voluntary not mandatory.
Ofgem says that they like the sites to be more transparent about their commission arrangements with suppliers and make sure that consumers understand the impact these have on the results they will see. Consumers should be informed that they are paying commission for the site.
How Price Comparison Websites Affect Market Performance in the UK
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Key Learnings
Consumers use PCW’s because they want transparency. Many Insurance companies are complicated and can be confusing to consumers. If Insurance companies don’t change then they will loose even more market share to PCW’s
Traditional companies need to be clear on the benefits they are offering customers as more than often they are competing with PCW’s based on price and not the service or benefits
There is an opportunity for Insurance companies outside of the UK in certain countries to be the first to create a PCW as many are owned by Insurance companies
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