GLOBAL CONSUMER INSIGHTS

To build a fair, safe and sustainable marketplace consumer voices must be heard and respected, to help the most vulnerable and deliver a new social contract for consumers. Our global consumer insights programme pinpoints the top issues affecting people in the marketplace, collects and shares their lived experience and unites various actors across the marketplace to change consumer experiences for the better.

Our insights are unique and draw on expert and reliable input from academic bodies, civil society and 200 leading consumer organisations. Our insights:

  • Encompass a consumer rights approach. They look at the needs, values and experiences of consumers through a focus on fairness, trust and avoiding commercial bias.
  • Build on extensive data from our members across 100 countries. This data ranges from consumer complaints to research on accurate pricing to values and views on new products and services.
  • Identify emerging consumer trends. We look at patterns, risks and opportunities to show interventions that work well or the changes needed to ensure they are adapted to context to work better.
  • Tell the consumer story. We use compelling storytelling, such as data visualisation and tailored messaging and we share the work of our Members and others gathering insights to amplify the voice of consumers.
  • Generate action. Our insights feed into our research and advocacy on the global stage as we share with partners, UN Trade & Development (UNCTAD), UN Environment Programme, the OECD and the International Standards Organization.

CONSUMER VOICE FOR INCLUSIVE DIGITAL FINANCE  

The digital financial ecosystem has become increasingly complex. New technologies, actors and business models are rapidly expanding worldwide, and each market has different characteristics. Consumer protection frameworks have not kept up with these surging levels of complexity and as a result, consumers are subject to increased risks, such as fraud and scams. In addition, the voice of consumers – particularly the vulnerable – is not being heard.

Our work ‘Building the Consumer Voice for Digital Finance’ involves a cohort of fair finance experts and is supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and is changing this. It explores the models of digital finance which can improve the lives of vulnerable consumers through service design and delivery, and to elevate their voice and build better frameworks.

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UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER MOTIVATIONS TO UNLOCK SUSTAINABLE LIVING

Our behaviour insights study across 31 markets and covering 30,000 consumers shone a powerful light on the barriers preventing consumers from adopting more sustainable practices. Consumers do support the green economy, yet we found affordability, accessibility and availability to be the greatest issues across consumers.


We identified four types of consumers including:

  1. Conscious Consumers who typically have high feelings of personal responsibility and low trust in government and business.
  2. Seekers are open to trying newer products and services but do not proactively take sustainable choices.
  3. Supporters who engage in sustainable actions that are part of the social norm and are motivated by factors that directly benefit them such as improved health and lifestyle.
  4. Savers who personally feel more impacted by climate change but their desire to make a difference is limited by cost and access constraints.

With these findings, we called for greater support to consumers from leaders in government and business.

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State of Global Consumer Advocacy 2023-24

Effective consumer protection fuels trust in markets, preserves fair and competitive markets and ensures a thriving economy. However, a global measure for consumer protection is lacking and existing indices have been either carried out on a regional basis or by industry alone. In 2020 our Global Consumer Protection and Empowerment Index highlighted the need for a comprehensive measure. Conducted across 100 countries. It empowers leaders with:

  • A global view: Identify strengths and weaknesses across diverse sectors.
  • Data-driven advocacy: Prioritise areas like sustainable consumption and digital rights.

Building on our Index methodology and findings, in December we released a survey on the state of consumer advocacy in 2023 and predictions for the year ahead. This pulled responses from 35 members  across 26 countries countries. This found that:

  • Top consumer concerns included: Sustainability, digital rights, and green energy.
  • Core challenges for consumer groups: Engaging consumers and funding.
  • Consumer knowledge gaps: Sustainability and technology lag behind informed choices.
  • 39% stated that there was strong alignment between consumer and government priorities, underscoring the need for greater collaboration and action.
  • Looking ahead, cost of living, sustainable consumption, food prices, and data privacy demand immediate attention.

We shone a light on these findings at our Global Congress with leaders from across government, business and civil society.

PERSONALISED PRICING

Personalised pricing tailors prices to individual consumers. While its use is rising, limited research exists on the harm it can have. In 2022 we released our investigation into the consumer experiences of dating apps across six countries by utilising a network of mystery shoppers.

Key Findings:

  • Strong evidence was uncovered of personalised pricing in all surveyed countries for a sample company, with significant price variations (up to 31 unique prices for a single service).
  • Price-setting methods and personalised pricing itself often lack transparency.
  • Age appears to be a major factor in influencing personalised pricing in the case study, but it was not the only indicator.
  • Consumers are aware of personalised pricing as an issue, and its potential downsides, particularly regarding data privacy, however they were not aware they were being offered a personalised price in the marketplace.
  • Transparency in price-setting and data use can build trust in the marketplace.

 

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MEMBER INSIGHTS SPOTLIGHT 

 

  • Hong Kong Consumer Council have used insights from across consumers to share consumer demand for home renovation and to help improve their understanding of reputable verified home renovation companies. This forms part of their broader advocacy to demand regulation of the renovation industry.
  • Consumer Reports (USA) and global consulting firm ICF investigated the financial impact of climate change across USA consumers over an 80-year lifetime, finding this amounts to a staggering $500,000 across health, food, transportation and income costs.
  • CDC (El Salvador) raised the alarm on rising prices, and released a new analysis which showed a significant cost of living increase, from $706 to $920 over four years covering essentials like services, utilities, transport and more. 
  • Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG, India) have been looking into digital finance usage patterns and the struggles that vulnerable consumers face and how government can help through improving connectivity and digital literacy.
  • Consumer Protection Research Centre (Australia) recently assessed how people perceive and understand the various types of personal information organisations collect about them, finding that consumers are being singled out by businesses they do not interact with.   
  • Que Choisir (France) collected data from vulnerable households on their access to a public energy discount scheme. Together with 20 leading civil society organisations, they informed government of how to better assist vulnerable consumers.

Coming Up

Over the coming months our top insights news includes:

  1. Bringing our insights on consumer motivations to unlock sustainable living to the OECD Ministerial on Consumer Protection, 08 October 2024.
  2. Presenting our core findings across our inclusive digital finance work at OECD Task Force Meeting on Financial Wellbeing: 16 October 2024.
  3. Delivering workshops with our Members in Kenya, Mexico, and India to discuss and share solutions on consumer vulnerability in digital finance: 8-24 October 2024
  4. Hosting our third Consumer Insights Series session on Online Scams: 20 November 2024. 

Leaders across government, business, civil society and academia can find out more on our insights work by contacting impact@constint.org.