A massive 59% of UK consumers switched suppliers for a service, such as mobile phone, utilities and broadband in the last 12 months, according to a survey from AOL Broadband. Indeed, it seems loyalty is the latest casualty of the credit crunch with commitments taking the strain as consumers seek to tighten their belts in the current economic climate.
Worries over expensive lengthy contracts has seen a big shift in people’s attitudes to service contracts across the country with 47% of respondents spending more time seeking cheaper and shorter contracts. Nearly half (47%) of consumers saying that since the credit crunch their contracts make them feel pinned down.
79% of respondents said that they would choose a no-contract service over an identical one based on a contract, and the evidence suggests that Britain is gearing up for a no-ties 'Free-Me' approach to their financial outgoings.
Yet, it seems that the trend towards removing the ties is spreading into people’s wider lifestyles also with the constraints of jobs, mortgages and even relationships feeling the pinch in the current economic climate.
David Pagliari, Executive Director of AOL Broadband said; “We all know that the long term commitment of a mortgage has become more difficult since the credit crunch took hold, but what this research shows is that we are now far more wary about entering into any long term contracts.
“The message is that consumers now expect the flexibility to choose whether they sign up to a contract for their services or not. It is clearly an important factor, with 79% of our respondents saying that contracts or the lack of them are a deciding factor when looking at services.”
People in the North East are most likely to switch service providers with 74% saying they had switched suppliers for a service, such as mobile phone, utilities and broadband in the last 12 months.
The most popular regions for service switching are broken down below, according to how many respondents had switched suppliers in the last 12 months;
Region
North East 74%
Yorks and Humb 68%
South East 64%
West Midlands 63%
Wales 63%
South West 61%
East 59%
London 58%
North West 52%
Scotland 48%
East Midlands 48%
It appears that the credit crunch is having a big impact on people’s attitudes to service contracts across the country. When asked about whether the respondents were less likely to sign up to fixed term contracts with suppliers as a result of the credit crunch, it was the Welsh who came out on top. 57% of the Welsh respondents said that since the credit crunch, they were less likely to sign up to contracts. Again the North East was in the top three regions in the country.
Region
Wales 57%
Yorks and Humb 51%
North East 48%
Eastern 48%
West Midlands 45%
South West 44%
North West 41%
London 41%
Scotland 39%
South East 38%
East Midlands 38%
-ENDS-
Notes to editors:
AOL Broadband eases consumers’ reservations regarding lengthy contracts by offering the Wireless Flexi Broadband package:
* Winner of the Top 10 Broadband awards category for Best Short Contract Broadband.
* No fixed term contract
* Up to 8Mbps download speed
* From £4.99 for 3 months, £14.99 thereafter
For more information please visit http://www.aolbroadband.co.uk/
About AOL Broadband
* AOL Broadband was acquired by The Carphone Warehouse Group in December 2006 from AOL Inc.
* AOL Broadband is a key part of The Carphone Warehouse Group’s Telecommunications Division which includes Opal Retail, Talk Talk and CPW Networks businesses.
About the survey
* 1000 adults aged 18+ were interviewed as part of a telephone omnibus survey.
* The omnibus survey was conducted on behalf of AOL Broadband by Dynamic Markets
* Fieldwork took place between 18th-20th April 2008
For further information please contact:
Paul Saville
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
0207 6389571
aol@citigatedr.co.uk
http://www.citigatedewerogerson.co.uk
