UK consumers are benefiting from lower priced communications services than those in other major European countries and the US, according to the latest research from Ofcom. Compared to consumers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the US, UK consumers have cheaper access to mobile phone, landline telephone and broadband deals. Based on five typical household profiles, ranging from a low use household with basic needs, through to an affluent household that uses lots of communications services, the UK was either the cheapest or second cheapest in 4 out of 5 profiles.
While the UK was consistently cheaper, not all communications services were the most competitive relative to other countries. Premium TV subscriptions were found to be more expensive in the UK (GBP 66) than in other countries surveyed – and twice as expensive as in Germany (GBP 27), where the cheapest deal was available. However, the UK package included twice as many channels. The research shows that the biggest savings available to UK consumers are for mobile phone deals, which are significantly cheaper than in other major European countries, and almost three times less than what US consumers pay.
The UK also emerged as having the most affordable communications services for a typical household, with the best deals representing only 2.3 percent of total living costs. The best deals available in France, Italy and the US represented 2.5 percent of consumers’. The least affordable country was Germany, where the best deals cost consumers 3.4 percent of their outgoings.
Research of consumer online shopping habits in 17 countries found that UK consumers are spending significantly more per head than any other country surveyed, at GBP 1,175 in 2012, up 16 percent from GBP 1,017 in 2011. This is GBP 307 higher than the second highest country (Australia) and more than double the average spend per head of all the other markets (GBP 560). Research into why online shopping is so popular in the UK relative to other countries shows that UK shoppers trust online retailers more than shoppers in other countries and have greater confidence in the security of the sites they buy from.
