Hírek

The Consumer Markets Scoreboard monitors how markets are functioning from the perspective of consumers. Market Performance is measured by the Market Performance Indicator (MPI), a composite index made of 5 components: comparability of offers, trust in businesses to respect consumer protection rules, the extent to which markets live up to what consumers expect, choice of retailers/suppliers and the degree to which problems experienced in the market cause detriment. The top 3 services markets for consumers are: holiday accommodation (e.g. hotels, with a market performance score of 84.4 out of 100), cultural and entertainment services (e.g. theatres, cinemas, museums – 83.4) and sport services (e.g. gyms – 82.9). In the goods category, the best performing markets are those for books, magazines and newspapers (85.3); entertainment goods (e.g. toys, games, musical instruments – 84.9); and large household appliances (such as fridges and washing machines – 84.6). This means that consumers trust providers, suffer little detriment from problems, find offers easy to compare, appreciate the choice available and generally consider their expectations are met. The poorest performing services markets are real estate (73.8), mortgages (73.8), and investment products, private pensions and securities (74.1); while for goods markets they are second hand cars (75.6), meat products (80.6), and vehicle fuels (80.9). In these markets trust in providers is lower, consumers suffer higher detriment (financial, psychological or time loss), have a hard time comparing offers, are not happy with the choice available and are left with unmet expectations. Consumers evaluate more positively than two years ago the comparability of offers from train operators and consider that train services meet their expectations to a larger extent. Fast moving retail markets, which include food markets such as non-alcoholic drinks and bread, cereals and pasta, show just a modest improvement. For the first time, the Scoreboard measures the detriment reported by consumers in each of the markets surveyed. Detriment refers to financial loss or other types of harm (e.g. time wasted, stress) suffered by consumers after the purchase or use of a product. The highest overall detriment is reported in the telecom markets, as consumers often face problems with providers. In the insurance markets, on the other hand, consumers seldom encounter problems, but when problems occur their impact is most severe. Over the last two years, the proportion of consumers who switched supplier increased in most markets, including telecoms, energy, and financial services (except for bank accounts), but this in itself is not necessarily an indicator of good market functioning. The main reported reason why consumers do not switch is that they are not interested, but almost a quarter say that they did not switch because they thought it would be too difficult, that they tried but faced obstacles, or because of other reasons. Consumers in financial difficulty are more likely to experience problems and tend to perceive switching as more difficult than other consumers. More educated citizens tend to evaluate markets more negatively, which could be because they are in a better position to assess market offers and identify problems.