Utilities businesses see big increase in positive sentiment across online reviews - driven by improved customer service

• Trustpilot’s latest Online Review Index has revealed that the UK’s utilities sector is leading the way in improved customer experience, with positive sentiment in reviews across the category having jumped 4% in three months 

• Just under 12 million service reviews were submitted to the platform by UK consumers between April and June - a 4% increase upon the first three months of the year, suggesting reviews continue to play a pivotal role in consumers’ buying habits

• The Online Review Index is a quarterly deep dive tracking consumer sentiment across reviews towards different retail sectors 

LONDON, UK - FRIDAY 28 JULY 2023, for immediate release - Trustpilot has today revealed that UK utilities suppliers are leading the charge in improved customer service. Trustpilot’s latest Online Review Index has found that just under 86,000 reviews of businesses within the UK utilities sector have been submitted to the platform since April, with positive sentiment in reviews across the category having jumped 4% in the last quarter alone. 

This jump far surpasses other major retail sectors such as Electronics & Technology and Fashion (which both dropped 1% respectively), Home & Garden (which dropped 3%), Money & Insurance (which remained the same) and Beauty & Wellbeing (which increased by 1%). This is the third time Trustpilot has published its quarterly Online Review Index; a deep dive into data on the platform to reveal customer sentiment towards different business sectors.

Across the whole of the UK utilities sector, the key words and topics driving the bulk of positive sentiment in reviews included ‘engineer’, ‘installation setup’, ‘staff’ and ‘solution’; suggesting that businesses delivering strong customer service are all the more appealing to consumers during this tough economic period and likely to maintain the loyalty of customers. 

By contrast, pain points and key words mentioned by customers which drove negative sentiment in reviews included ‘meter readings’, ‘contact’, ‘debt’ and ‘payment’ - suggesting some businesses are still falling short of providing a quality service, often leading to painful payment processes and money worries for many consumers.

Where high costs remain an ongoing concern for consumers, and suppliers unlikely to offer costs significantly lower than the price cap, it’s clear that other deciding factors such as customer experience are likely to play an increasingly important role in consumers’ decision making, with many keen to find a supplier with a good reputation and customer service. 

Mieke De Schepper, Chief Commercial Officer at Trustpilot, said: “As inflation continues to bite and place increased strain on households, the importance of earning - and maintaining - a trustworthy reputation among consumers has never been more crucial. Where businesses may be less able to compete on price, other differentiators such as customer service can really help an energy supplier set itself apart from competitors, so in this time of economic uncertainty, it’s reassuring to see improved sentiment in reviews of businesses across the sector on our platform. 

“Increasingly, consumers are not just searching for the cheapest deal but are also looking for the best possible customer experience, seeking assurances from suppliers that they have their best interests in mind.”

Consumers can visit the category on Trustpilot to see the profile pages for utilities suppliers - including energy and water - to find out more and read the full breadth of positive and negative reviews, and can also use the search function to find more relevant information, by looking up key topics and topics, such as ‘installation’. 

To find out more, visit https://www.trustpilot.com/categories/utilities. 

-ENDS-

Methodology

Insights for the ‘Online Review Index’ were drawn from aggregated consumer review data held by Trustpilot. Review texts and the selected keywords or relevant topics were analysed within their contexts and scored for sentiment (positive, neutral or negative), using cutting-edge Natural Language Processing techniques that draw on advanced statistical methods.

About Trustpilot

Trustpilot was founded in 2007 with a vision to create an independent currency of trust.

A digital platform that brings businesses and consumers together to foster trust and inspire collaboration. We are free to use, open to everybody, and built on transparency.

Trustpilot hosts reviews to help consumers shop with confidence and deliver rich insights to help businesses improve the experience they offer. The more consumers use our platform and share their own opinions, the richer the insights we offer businesses, and the more opportunities they have to earn the trust of consumers, from all around the world.

Over 213 million consumer reviews of businesses and products of over 893,000 domains have been posted on Trustpilot, and those numbers are growing by more than one review per second.  

Trustpilot has over 850 employees and is headquartered in Copenhagen, with operations in London, Edinburgh, New York, Denver, Melbourne, Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam and Vilnius.