20% of U.S. Customers to Consider Switching in Next Year, Accenture Says

One in five U.S. electric customers who are eligible to choose their electricity provider are "considering" switching to another electricity provider in the next 12 months, Accenture said today based on results of its latest survey.

The Accenture study (available here) explored on a global basis how consumers want to interact with their energy providers, the products and services they value, and key drivers of purchasing and loyalty behavior.

The survey included about 1,000 respondents in the U.S., in both deregulated on vertically integrated markets.

Much of the data is presented on an aggregated basis, so the utility is somewhat limited, but several data points were broken down specific to responses from the U.S. competitive retail markets.

Notably, Accenture reported that in the deregulated U.S. markets, 12% of respondents said that they would "probably" switch their electric supplier in the next 12 months, while 8% of respondents said that they would "certainly" switch.

Globally, 89% of consumers in deregulated markets report that a reduced electricity bill is a main factor that motivates switching providers. Among other drivers for switching (globally) include:

• 60%: Rate plans that better suit my needs (e.g., fixed price, reduced price in evenings, etc.)

• 32%: Product and service bundles that better suit my needs (e.g., bundle natural gas, home phone, Internet, home energy audit, etc.)

• 32%: Better loyalty rewards program

• 31%: Better customer service/support

Accenture also said that, globally, 69% of consumers would be motivated to stay if their current electricity provider rewarded them with "points" that can be used to purchase a variety of products and services. Other loyalty constructs such as surprise recognition programs or rewards points that are only redeemable at specific times in the future do not fall far behind, Accenture said.