Price comparison websites

• Price comparison websites: full research report [ 430 kb]
• The real deal: recommendations paper [ 1 mb]

This report examines consumer awareness of existing accreditation schemes designed to improve the PCW market. Examples of such schemes are the OFGEM Confidence Code and the OFCOM Price Calculator. In addition the report investigates consumers’ appetite for using accredited PCWs, alongside the potential impact of introducing cost-effective ways to increase consumer awareness of accredited PCWs.

Specifically, the report looks into the issues of:

• consumer perceptions of current PCW accreditation
• testing consumer preferences for PCW accreditation schemes
• what the minimum standards for an accreditation/trustmark scheme should be
• who would consumers trust to run accreditation schemes
• ways to increase consumer awareness of accreditation schemes.

The Real Deal highlights key consumer concerns  and suggests ways forward to improve the functioning of the PCW market. In particular, the paper addresses key market challenges including:

• Impartiality, reliability and trust
• Effectiveness of the existing regulations and enforcement
• Barriers to market growth