I followed the energy saving snoop to see what I could save, and knowing there are a lot out there was surprised to see so few suppliers listed. The latest tariff from my current supplier wasnt even listed - which made me suspicious (tbh that’s the first thing I wanted to check). Bottom right corner I found a small icon, and clicked it to reveal filters, one of which restricted the offers listed to ”those to which we can switch you". Changed that and hey presto many more cheaper offers.
No message warning that there were hidden offers or that the search was restricted in any way … had I not been looking for my current supplier who was missing, I would have assumed this was a whole market search.
Hi SteveL. Thanks for the feedback – it’s really helpful.
We’re early days on our energy journey and we built the initial experience to try and make sure as many people as possible would switch to save themselves money, because most people don’t. In the UK, over half of consumers are still on standard tariffs, overpaying by significant amounts. That’s why we built the ability to switch without ever leaving the Snoop app. As soon as there’s a barrier in the way and people can’t take the action immediately, switch rates go down. That’s not a good outcome for the customer (they don’t save) and it’s not a good outcome for Snoop either (we’re very open that we earn revenue when people switch and save, in order that the app can be free).
We have been thinking about ways to make the point you’re making clearer – so that customers like you that want to see the full market listing know what they need to do. We’re going to be building that into the Snoop content and journey, and that way no-one can be in any doubt.
Thanks for the feedback - it’s been super-helpful for us. Paul L
I agree with all that you said about people who don’t switch and the importance of making it easy. Of course, the saving from switching quickly and easily from their current supplier to any that is cheaper is better than inaction.
For that reason I think you can make the point: We make it easy to switch to these CHEAPER suppliers with whom we have a relationship (it’s quick, will IMMEDIATELY save you money, and also helps us financially). There are others that would save you more today (click here to see them), but please don’t let the pursuit of perfection get in the way of doing SOMETHING that’s good for your financial health, TODAY.
I raised this because I think for a user who is not on a standard tariff, your app is potentially misleading, and I suspect (and I think you should consider verifying) that the majority of YOUR users are not on standard tariffs.
Hi SteveL. Thanks - your suggestions make good sense. We’ve analysed our existing base based on longevity of relationship with their supplier and the relative amount they’re paying (from their transactional data) so we have a good assessment of who we would expect to be on a standard tariff. Our 75,000-strong customer base actually looks very much like the UK as a whole so we have a high number of customers that we would expect to be on standard tariffs. One of the benefits of the Open Banking data is it gives us this visibility. We will definitely work through your points about both audiences. PaulL
Just to echo Steve’s thoughts, I think it’s paramount that Snoop makes it clear when they’re showing a whole market view, versus a restricted view with limited suppliers. Snoop’s current perspective which considers the barrier to switching makes total sense, but it’d be interesting to see what would happen to switch rates if the default view was a whole market view and upon trying to switch, Snoop would display a message stating what the saving would be from switching away from your current supplier to a supplier supported in the app, versus one not supported by the app. This could then empower the customer to make the decision of whether they want the easiest option or the most money-saving (where those aren’t the same).
Of course, this may decrease the number of switches that happen through the Snoop app, and I understand this is a revenue stream for Snoop, but I suppose it’s about finding a sensible balance. In order for me to regularly use Snoop (and also to recommend it to others!), I want to feel confident that Snoop is helping me save as much money as possible (with the understanding that Snoop need their revenue streams), and therefore I’m in favour of the default view being a whole market view (or at the very least a clear disclaimer of the results). For what it’s worth, I think MSE’s energy club have nailed transparency and clarity when displaying their results.
So far my experience of Snoop has been very positive, so keep up the good work!
I wrote the above before testing out the energy comparison in Snoop. I’ve just tried it and have some further thoughts. I do not like the categorisation at the top where it says ‘All’ and ‘Big Names’ because all is not all. It’s great to hear you’re thinking about ways to make it clearer though.
Edit: The emails I received from Snoop about switching are great and very transparent!
Morning Joe - thanks for the feedback and for adding to SteveL’s comments. Genuinely - very helpful, particularly the observation on the categorisation - we’ll feed that into the work on this. Pleased to hear the emails are helpful too. Leave it with us - we will work all this through as part of looking at this piece of the app. Once again - thanks for taking time to feedback. We can’t improve without a constant view from our users of how they’re finding Snoop. All the best, Paul L
