As the recession bites and money-wise shoppers look for the best deals, consumers are doing more than ever before to share their good and bad experiences with others. New research from Consumer Focus reveals that four in five people (79 per cent) now tell friends, family and complete strangers about which companies have delivered a great deal – and which have let them down.
This is having a direct effect on company bottom lines, as consumers change their purchasing decisions – but while some businesses are responding by offering greater value and better service, consumers say other sectors seem stuck with a rip-off mentality.
Streetwise: real people, real issues shows that people are no longer prepared to put up with second best and shoddy service – two-thirds (62%) have taken their business elsewhere after being treated badly by a company. One-third (32%) of all consumers have decided not to buy a product from a particular company after hearing of someone else’s bad experience.
Canny consumers are using the power of the Internet to get the best deal, in terms of service and reliability as well as price. But the common perception that Internet conversations are marked by ranting is mistaken – slightly more consumers place positive, rather than negative, remarks on websites and blogs.
Launching the Streetwise report, Consumer Focus Chair, Lord Whitty, said, ‘In these tough economic times, consumers are doing more than ever before to share good and bad experiences of companies and to learn from other people. Some sectors are responding by cutting prices and improving service while others remain trapped in a culture of ‘the company knows best.’ The worst performers will learn the hard way that consumer talk costs bad businesses’ lives; the best will reap the rewards on their bottom line. It has never been more important for companies to get as streetwise as their customers and to offer all consumers a fair deal.’
Streetwise shows that a fair deal is hard to find in today’s Britain. Two-thirds of the British public (63%) believe companies would willingly mislead their customers if they think it will make them money. And it’s clear that businesses still have a long way to go to improve their customer service – more than half (55%) of all consumers experienced poor service at least once in the last year and three-quarters feel that big companies treat them as numbers, rather than people.
Some sectors are responding well to the recession and giving consumers a fair deal. More than half of those asked (53 per cent) rated supermarkets as treating customers well in the economic downturn. In stark contrast, fewer than one in ten people saw banks, energy companies or mobile phone companies as treating their customers well.
Consumers are generally becoming more streetwise but some social groups may be left behind – through low income, lack of access to the Internet and language barriers. In the next year, Consumer Focus will campaign for fair access for all.
Ends
For more information please contact the Consumer Focus media team on 020 7799 8000.
Notes to editors:
· The report Streetwise: real people, real issues is available as a PDF at http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/Media/ViewFile.aspx?FilePath=264_20090311135648_e_@@_StreetwiseReportfinalPDF.PDF&filetype=4
· Getting under the skin of consumer issues, this major study from Consumer Focus, the new consumer champion, combines real-life stories with in-depth polling of 2,000 consumers across Britain. The statistics used are from the results of an Ipsos MORI poll commissioned by Consumer Focus and conducted in January 2009 through 1,988 face-to-face interviews with individuals drawn from across Great Britain.
· People surveyed were aged 15 or over and the data was weighted to represent the GB population of 15 years or more.
