Consumers Rate Energy Providers Higher on Data Security Than on Energy-Consumption Advice, Accenture Research Shows
June 17 2015 - 2:03AM
Business Wire
Interest in new products and services, like
solar and energy management, continues to rise
In today’s digital world of connected devices, energy consumers
are nearly twice as likely to trust their energy providers to
safeguard their personal data than to advise them on energy
consumption, according to new research by Accenture (NYSE:ACN).
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Accenture’s sixth annual survey this year included more than
11,000 energy consumers in 21 countries. The report, The New Energy
Consumer: Unleashing Business Value in a Digital World, found that
65 percent of consumers showed confidence in their energy provider
to secure and protect their personal data and information about
their energy usage. This rose to 76 percent among regular users of
digital channels. In contrast, only 36 percent said that they trust
their energy provider to inform them about actions they can take to
optimize their energy use.
“As energy and everyday devices become increasingly connected,
an unprecedented amount of personal information about consumers’
habits and their households is becoming available, magnifying the
importance of digital trust,” said Tony Masella, global managing
director of Accenture Energy Consumer Services.
Highlighting this level of digital trust among energy consumers,
almost two-thirds (61 percent) of respondents said they would be
comfortable with their energy provider sharing their data with
third parties, although in most cases only with prior permission.
In addition, about the same number (62 percent) said they would
allow their energy provider’s mobile application to access their
location information, regardless of whether to provide outage
information or to inform them about promotions.
“In addition to ensuring customers’ confidence in their data
privacy, energy providers can use this information to develop more
personalized products and services,” Mr. Masella said. “In fact,
they must do this to remain competitive, given that barriers to
entry are coming down and utilities must now compete with start-up
digital retailers and new entrants from other industries, which are
offering new and bundled solutions and services.”
With the proliferation of new energy-generating technologies,
from distributed generation to wireless charging furniture,
Accenture’s research also found that consumers are becoming
increasingly conscious of their energy consumption. Two-thirds (66
percent) would be interested in products and services to help them
save electricity – up from 56 percent last year – while 69 percent
said that they would be interested in participating in an
energy-management program to help them conserve energy.
More than three-quarters of consumers have taken
energy-efficiency actions in the past year, including installing
energy-efficient light bulbs (52 percent), reducing appliance usage
(34 percent), using appliances in non-peak times (28 percent), and
lowering thermostat settings (28 percent). However, nearly four in
10 consumers (38 percent) said they believe that their energy
provider is not effective in helping them manage their energy
consumption.
In addition to conserving energy, consumers are increasingly
interested in generating and storing their own electricity, such as
by installing solar panels and home-battery storage. More than half
(57 percent) said they would consider investing to become power
self-sufficient. While this varies dramatically between
countries, with a much stronger bias towards the economies with
lower electrification rates like South Africa, Indonesia or Brazil,
most (89 percent) of those willing to invest would still want to be
connected to the grid for back-up power.
“Energy providers can offer new value propositions to their
customers, as these products and services are no longer niche
market opportunities,” Mr. Masella said. “In competitive markets,
energy providers can create new revenue streams by offering digital
solutions for home-related products and services, such as solar and
other home-energy generation platforms, energy-efficiency tools, or
even bundled home services. In a regulated marketplace,
opportunities for energy providers include innovative partnerships
or digital information services. While interest in new products and
services is high and increasing among all energy consumers, our
research shows that consumers who use digital channels to interact
with their energy provider may represent even greater value.”
Methodology
Accenture’s six years of global research surveys are based on
questionnaire-led interviews with end consumers. Surveys were
conducted online in native languages for Accenture by Harris
Interactive. The selected countries represent a range of regulated
and competitive markets. In 2015, a total of 11,298 interviews were
conducted in 21 countries, including 1,074 in the United States,
640 in the United Kingdom, 584 in Canada, and 500 in Argentina,
Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Indonesia,
Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South
Africa, Spain, Sweden and Thailand. For residential consumers the
survey sample was statistically representative of the general
population in each country, with the exceptions of Argentina,
Brazil, China, Indonesia and South Africa, where the sample was
representative of the urban populations. For countries with large
and/or diverse populations, participants were selected from a broad
spectrum of locations. The surveys included attitudinal, behavioral
and demographic questions.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services
and outsourcing company, with more than 323,000 people serving
clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled
experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and
business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most
successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help
them become high-performance businesses and governments. The
company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal
year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is
www.accenture.com.
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AccentureGuy Cantwell, + 1
281-900-9089guy.cantwell@accenture.comorJustyna Devraj + 44 20 7844
0090+ 44 750 012 4567 (mobile)justyna.devraj@accenture.com
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