Quarter of UK consumers feel no loyalty to utility providers

A report published by ELLO Media has indicated that 26 per cent of UK consumers do not have a sense of loyalty for their energy provider. Nearly half, 47 per cent, believed that they gained no benefit from showing loyalty to a brand.

This comes after statistics earlier this year detailed that the first two months of 2019 saw a 2 per cent increase in the amount of people switching energy supplier, with 2018 in itself being a record year for switching.

Over the last year, 22 per cent of customers have switched their provider, with 80 per cent of those polled saying that prices had been a factor in their decision to change.

British Gas was the brand that people felt the most loyal to, with 18 per cent of the 1,000 respondents reporting this. On the other hand, only 4 per cent felt that they were most loyal to Npower or EDF. The rest of the big six, Eon, Scottish Power, and SSE, had 8 per cent, 7 per cent, and 6 per cent respectively.

Across all market sectors, it was found that over a third of consumers said they would be loyal to brands if they felt that they got true value in return.

Matthew Vickers, chief executive at the Energy Ombudsman, said: “In an era of price comparison sites and auto-switching services, genuine customer loyalty is hard to earn and even harder to maintain.

“Genuine loyalty means having an emotional connection with the brand, as opposed to simply staying with a provider for a long period of time, which could be down to inertia, a lack of information about switching, or other factors.

“There are no shortcuts to winning the loyalty of consumers – it’s about providing an excellent customer journey and customer service, as well as having in place an effective complaints-handling process so that any problems are put right quickly and to the customer’s satisfaction.”