Report: Partner Metrics: Consumer Attitudes Towards and Willingness to Use Alternative Providers in UK Financial Services TOC

0.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Research background and structure
In terms of the regularity of contact with consumers, Google comes second only to Tesco...
... although the Post Office possesses the largest outright number of customers
The brands of Boots and Marks & Spencer inspire the most trust across all consumers...
... while the brands of energy companies have been damaged by rising electricity and gas prices
The National Trust / National Trust for Scotland comes first for trust among its own members
On average, consumers are most likely to take out motor insurance through the 80 organisations...
... with least interest being demonstrated for mortgages as a result of a number of factors
The 80 partner organisations researched can be grouped into five main sets and subsets...
... for which various conclusions can be drawn concerning their prospects in financial services...
... including the potential for strong execution to over-ride an apparently less favourable profile

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Research rationale
Alternative providers have expanded rapidly in UK financial services since the mid-1990s...
... although it can be hard to evaluate the actual and potential efficacy of any given organisation
Partner Metrics seeks to provide both an intellectual framework and robust, indicative data...
... for both the full universe of respondents and actual customers of each of 80 organisations
Research sample
Strengths and weaknesses
The Internet research methodology is characterised by several advantages and drawbacks
Finaccord
Partner Metrics and other consumer-focused studies
UK affinity and partnership marketing publications
IPT / IMRS

2.0 PARTNER ANALYSIS

Introduction
Results from the Partner Metrics research are given for nine distinct types of financial service...
... albeit these are preceded by key findings from Finaccord' s 2005 Affinity Metrics program
Key findings from the 2005 Affinity Metrics research
Credit cards / other banking products
Charities and trade unions experienced the second and third highest rates of interest...
... thanks to the widespread nature of charity cards and extensive affinity involvement of unions
Over 12.0 million consumers can be targeted by the Post Office for banking products
Life insurance and pensions
Consumers are most likely to favour banks and building societies as a distribution channel...
... although the worksite is not far behind as an option among employed respondents
Close to 9.5 million consumers would potentially buy a life or pensions policy in the workplace
Accident and health insurance
Over one third of consumers would buy accident or health cover through the banking channel
Trade unions and the worksite are also rated highly as possible distribution channels
In terms of the number of susceptible consumers, the Post Office exceeds the worksite
Personal non-life insurance
7.5% of union members have already bought personal non-life insurance through their union...
... and consumers show notable interest at the idea of buying insurance through a charity
The Post Office can rival supermarkets as a distribution channel for personal non-life insurance...
... with newspapers and magazines reaching out to a potential audience of some 4.61 million
Consumer relationships and awareness
Results for all consumers
Among retailers, Boots lies second to Tesco in terms of its profile with consumers...
... with Google, the Post Office and BT also featuring among the top five in this ranking
Implied number of customers
Only 6.41% of consumers claim to have no relationship whatsoever with the Post Office
The positions of Argos and Boots are boosted by their huge volume of occasional customers
Consumer trust
Results for all consumers
Among the 80 entities covered, the brands of Boots and Marks & Spencer are the most trusted...
... with the UK' s leading three supermarkets also managing top ten rankings for trustworthiness
The brands of British Gas, npower and Powergen have been damaged by rising energy prices
Results for actual customers
Four firms achieve a top ten ranking for trust both among their own clients and all consumers...
... while American Express, BMW and Honda score especially well among their own customers
Travel firms tend to achieve relatively low scores for trust among their own clients
Motor insurance - actual and potential performance
Results for all consumers
The AA achieves the highest percentage of consumers claiming actual or historic utilisation
Halfords is perceived by many consumers as a possible source of motor insurance
Results for actual customers
Saga and the csma score highly as distributors of motor insurance among their own customers
An average of 6.30% of drivers claim to have bought automotive manufacturer insurance
Implied number of actual and viable customers
Boots and Nectar could both be viable affinity partners for motor insurance in future
Household insurance - actual and potential performance
Results for all consumers
More consumers view Tesco as a viable source of household insurance than those who do not
Amazon, B&Q, Boots, BT, Morrison' s and Nectar could credibly enter this market
A number of existing affinity partners for household insurance possess inherent handicaps
Results for actual customers
Saga achieves a level of take-up among its own customers that is far ahead of the competition
Certain partner organisations are well-positioned to leverage the affinity of their customers...
... although it is far from certain whether eBay can sell household policies to its customer base
Implied number of actual and viable customers
Tesco and the Post Office both possess in excess of six million actual or viable customers
Travel insurance - actual and potential performance
Results for all consumers
Among all consumers, the Post Office appears to be the best partner for travel insurance...
... with a range of other organisations challenging the position of specialist travel firms
A number of organisations that do offer travel insurance are unlikely to be effective in this field
Results for actual customers
Superior cross-selling rates mean that travel-oriented firms are the most efficient distributors...
... with Kuoni Travel' s apparent rate exceeding that even of Saga
Implied number of actual and viable customers
Among travel entities, Thomas Cook has the most implied actual and viable customers
Accident and health insurance - actual and potential performance
Results for all consumers
Boots is the organisation that consumers are most likely to associate with this type of policy...
... followed by other retailers as well as the AA, Age Concern, the Post Office, Saga and Virgin
Results for actual customers
6.38% of its customers claim to have bought an accident or health policy through Saga
Implied number of actual and viable customers
Implied viable customers exceed 1.5 million in the case of both BT and John Lewis
Life insurance - actual and potential performance
Results for all consumers
The results for life insurance are broadly comparable to those for accident and health insurance
Life insurance is distributed by three of the ten organisations achieving the lowest rankings
Results for actual customers
The actual customers of Saga and Age Concern are most likely to buy life insurance
Almost 3.5% of Manchester United' s supporters claim to have acquired a policy through the club
Implied number of actual and viable customers
Only Tesco possesses an implied number of actual and viable customers above three million
Credit cards - actual and potential performance
Results for all consumers
Tesco' s credit card has achieved apparently remarkable take-up among consumers...
... and latent demand for American Express payment cards appears to remain strong
The results suggest that there could be scope for Boots to introduce its own co-branded card...
... as well as BT and some of the larger automotive manufacturer brands
Results for actual customers
A number of organisations boast apparently high take-up rates for their co-branded cards...
... including the csma, Tesco, Saga, Virgin and Marks & Spencer...
... but future growth prospects for the Ryanair and Halfords co-branded cards appear doubtful
Implied number of actual and viable customers
The research suggests that demand for an eBay co-branded credit card could be strong
Mortgages - actual and potential performance
Results for all consumers
Consumers show limited interest in taking out mortgages through alternative providers...
... although Tesco' s experience in this market appears to have been reasonable
Results for actual customers
The results suggest that BMW could extend its financial services proposition to mortgages
Implied number of actual and viable customers
Nine organisations score over one million implied actual or viable customers
Personal loans - actual and potential performance
Results for all consumers
The results suggest that the top two affinity loan partners are Tesco and the Post Office
Amazon, B&Q and, arguably, Age Concern could also be viable distributors of personal loans
Results for actual customers
Consistently high take-up rates confirm the csma as a classic affinity partner
Implied number of actual and viable customers
ASDA and Sainsbury' s both score over two million in implied actual or viable borrowers
Savings accounts - actual and potential performance
Results for all consumers
Only a minority of the 80 organisations surveyed currently offer their own savings accounts...
... with the viability of the Post Office as a provider seemingly much higher than that of Tesco
Results for actual customers
A number of organisations could consider entering the market for savings accounts...
... with cross-selling rates among the leading branded providers ranging from 1% to over 4%
Implied number of actual and viable customers
ASDA, Boots and Nectar all possess a relatively high implied number of viable customers

GRAPHICS / TABLES

List of 80 major organisations evaluated by the research
Sample breakdown by age group, household income band and geographical location
Propensity of cons. to contract credit cards / banking products through affinity channels, segment. by channel
Implied no. of cons. susc. to contracting credit cards / bank. prods. through aff. channels, segment. by channel
Propensity of consumers to contract life ins. and pensions through affinity channels, segmented by channel
Implied no. of cons. susceptible to contracting life ins. and pens. through aff. channels, segment. by channel
Propensity of consumers to contract accident and health ins. through affinity channels, segmented by channel
Implied no. of cons. susc. to contracting accident and health ins. through aff. channels, segment. by channel
Propensity of consumers to contract personal non-life ins. through affinity channels, segmented by channel
Implied no. of cons. susc. to contracting personal non-life ins. through aff. channels, segment. by channel
Ranking of 80 partner organisations by consumer relationships and awareness, 2006
Ranking of 80 partner organisations by consumer relationships and awareness, 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual, adult customers of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual customers of 80 partner organisations, 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual customers plotted against frequency of relationships of 80 partner orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner organisations by trust of all consumers, 2006
Ranking of 80 partner organisations by trust of all consumers, 2006 (cont.)
Implied no. of actual customers plotted against score for trust across all consumers of 80 partner orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner organisations by trust of own customers, 2006
Ranking of 80 partner organisations by trust of own customers, 2006 (cont.)
Implied no. of actual customers plotted against score for trust of actual customers of 80 partner orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all consumers to purchase motor ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all cons. to purchase motor ins., 2006 (cont.)
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own customers to purchase motor ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own custs. to purchase motor ins., 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual and viable customers for motor insurance of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual and viable customers for motor insurance of 80 partner organisations, 2006 (cont.)
Imp. no. of actual custs. against % of these that are actual or viable custs. for motor ins. of 80 ptnr. orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all consumers to purchase house. ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all cons. to purchase house. ins., 2006 (cont.)
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own customers to purchase house. ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own custs. to purchase house. ins., 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual and viable customers for house. insurance of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual and viable customers for house. insurance of 80 partner organisations, 2006 (cont.)
Imp. no. of actual custs. against % of these that are actual or viable custs. for house. ins. of 80 ptnr. orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all consumers to purchase travel ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all cons. to purchase travel ins., 2006 (cont.)
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own customers to purchase travel ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own custs. to purchase travel ins., 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual and viable customers for travel insurance of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual and viable customers for travel insurance of 80 partner organisations, 2006 (cont.)
Imp. no. of actual custs. against % of these that are actual or viable custs. for travel ins. of 80 ptnr. orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all consumers to purchase acc. / hlth. ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all cons. to purchase acc. / hlth. ins., 2006 (cont.)
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own customers to purchase acc. / hlth. ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own custs. to purch. acc. / hlth. ins., 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual and viable customers for acc. / hlth. insurance of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual and viable customers for acc. / hlth. insurance of 80 partner orgs., 2006 (cont.)
Imp. no. of act. custs. against % of these that are act. or viable custs. for acc. / hlth. ins. of 80 ptnr. orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all consumers to purchase life ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all cons. to purchase life ins., 2006 (cont.)
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own customers to purchase life ins., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own custs. to purchase life ins., 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual and viable customers for life insurance of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual and viable customers for life insurance of 80 partner organisations, 2006 (cont.)
Imp. no. of actual custs. against % of these that are actual or viable custs. for life ins. of 80 ptnr. orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all consumers to take out credit cds., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all cons. to take out credit cds., 2006 (cont.)
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own customers to take out credit cds., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own custs. to take out credit cds., 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual and viable customers for credit cards of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual and viable customers for credit cards of 80 partner organisations, 2006 (cont.)
Imp. no. of actual custs. against % of these that are actual or viable custs. for credit cds. of 80 ptnr. orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all consumers to take out mortgages, 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all cons. to take out mortgages, 2006 (cont.)
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own customers to take out mortgages, 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own custs. to take out mortgages, 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual and viable customers for mortgages of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual and viable customers for mortgages of 80 partner organisations, 2006 (cont.)
Imp. no. of act. custs. against % of these that are act. or viable custs. for mortgages of 80 ptnr. orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all consumers to take out pers. loans, 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all cons. to take out pers. loans, 2006 (cont.)
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own customers to take out pers. loans, 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own custs. to take out pers. loans, 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual and viable customers for personal loans of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual and viable customers for personal loans of 80 partner organisations, 2006 (cont.)
Imp. no. of act. custs. against % of these that are act. or viable custs. for pers. loans of 80 ptnr. orgs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all consumers to take out savs. accs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of all cons. to take out savs. accs., 2006 (cont.)
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own customers to take out savs. accs., 2006
Ranking of 80 partner orgs. by actual and potential usage of own custs. to take out savs. accs., 2006 (cont.)
Implied number of actual and viable customers for savings accounts of 80 partner organisations, 2006
Implied number of actual and viable customers for savings accounts of 80 partner organisations, 2006 (cont.)
Imp. no. of act. custs. against % of these that are act. or viable custs. for savs. accs. of 80 ptnr. orgs., 2006
AA: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Age Concern: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Aldi: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Amazon: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
American Express: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out fin. svs
AOL: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Argos: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
ASDA: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Auto Trader: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
B&Q: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
BMW: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Body Shop: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
bonmarché: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Boots: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Bounty: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
BP: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
British Gas: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
BT: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Chelsea F.C. : consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
csma: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Daily Mail / Sunday Mail: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out fin. svs
Daily Telegraph / Sunday Telegraph: cons. relations. with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out fin. svs
Debenhams: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
E.ON: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Easygroup: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
eBay: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
English Heritage: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Esso: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Expedia: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
First Choice Holidays: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out fin. svs
Ford: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Google: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Halfords: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Homebase: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Honda: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
IKEA: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Jet: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
John Lewis: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Kuoni Travel: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Kwik-Fit: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Lidl: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Littlewoods: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Manchester United F.C. : consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out fin. svs
Marks & Spencer: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Morrison' s: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
MyTravel: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
National Trust / National Trust for Scotland: cons. relations. with, trust of and willing. to use for fin. svs
Nectar: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Netto: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Next: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
npower: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
O2: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Orange: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Peugeot: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Post Office: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Powergen: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Primark: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
QVC: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
RAC: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Renault: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Ryanair: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Saga: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Sainsbury' s: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Shell: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Sky: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Somerfield: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Sun / News of the World: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out fin svs
Superdrug: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Tesco: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Texaco: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Thomas Cook: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Thomson Holidays: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out fin. svs
Times / Sunday Times: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out fin. svs
Toyota: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Vauxhall: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Virgin: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Vodafone: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Volkswagen: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Yahoo! : consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services
Yell: consumer relationships with, trust of and willingness to use for taking out financial services

Partner Metrics: Consumer Attitudes Towards and Willingness to Use Alternative Providers in UK Financial Services

Table of Contents

0.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

2.0 PARTNER ANALYSIS

2.0 PARTNER PROFILES

GRAPHICS / TABLES