Product Type: Market Research Report
Published by: Datamonitor
Published: October 2006
Product Code: R313-18096Description Introduction
With utilities focused on reducing cost-to-serve, opportunities exist within the billing and payment operations to reduce costs in line with customer preferences, thus securing both a lower cost-to-serve and improved customer satisfaction. This brief draws on results from a survey of over 2000 Australian households to highlight customers' predilections for lower-cost billing and payment options.
Scope- A survey of over 2000 households across Australia regarding behaviours and preferences relating to bill presentment and payment.
- Analysis of preferences and behaviours overall and broken down by electricity spend
Highlights
Australian households show a preference to shift away from more expensive payment channels to cheaper options, such as Direct Debit, even without an incentive.
If incentivising a switch to Direct Debit, the most popular inducement of those suggested was a 2% discount on each bill.
There is significant interest in options such as bill smoothing and combined electricity and gas bills.
Reasons to Purchase- Identify ways in which to incentivise customers to choose lower-cost payment methods.
- Understand the differences in preferences by electricity spend.
- Assess the opportunity for smooth billing and combined gas and electricity billing and electronic billing.
Table of Contents - DATAMONITOR VIEW
- CATALYST
- SUMMARY
- METHODOLOGY
- INTRODUCTION
- Billing, payment and late payment account for approximately 40% of the residential cost-to-serve
- ANALYSIS
- How customers currently pay their bills and why they choose such methods
- How customers would prefer to pay their bills
- Incentivising customers to pay by Direct Debit
- Frequency of bill payment
- Interest in particular billing and payment options
- Bill smoothing
- Combined gas and electricity bill
- Paper versus electronic billing
- SUMMARY
- Key findings
- APPENDIX
- Further reading
- Ask the analyst
- Customer support
- List of Tables
- Table 1: How Australians currently pay their electricity and gas bills
- Table 2: Why consumers choose to pay by that method
- Table 3: Current vs. preferred methods of payment
- Table 4: Would you still pay by credit card if you were required to pay the 1% merchant fee?
- Table 5: Attractiveness of incentives for switching to Direct Debit
- Table 6: Attractiveness of incentives for switching to Direct Debit - by electricity spend per annum*
- Table 7: How interested are you in bill smoothing?
- Table 8: How interested are you in bill smoothing? - by electricity spend per annum
- Table 9: How interested are you in receiving a combined gas and electricity bill?
- Table 10: Preferred billing options: paper vs. electronic
- Table 11: Preferred billing options: paper vs. electronic - by electricity expenditure spend
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: How Australians currently pay their electricity and gas bills
- Figure 2: Attractiveness of incentives for switching to Direct Debit
- Figure 3: Attractiveness of incentives for switching to Direct Debit - electricity spend per annum
- Figure 4: What is the preferred frequency for paying an electricity or gas bill?
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