Ireland market overview

Emerging from a tough time during the pandemic and having experienced several lockdowns and restrictions on travel, the preferences and day-to-day spending habits of Irish customers are changing. Leading businesses have demonstrated their ability to adapt to these changing habits by showcasing their flexible business models by anticipating the customer need. Irish customers value the multi-channel model - the ability to choose the channel by which they interact with a brand and the importance of seamless communication across these channels.

Customers value digital channels through an informative website, the ease of accessing and using an app, the option to use a helpful chat bot, request a delivery service with tracking updates, while also having the option to lift the phone or meet a human face to face. As well as digital interaction with the brand, all the brands in the top 5 have an in-person option which Irish customers value, either via branches, stores or clinics. Personalisation is rated highly in the top 10 brands and that ability for a customer to tailor their Interaction with a brand to suits them is Important.  

Time & Effort, and Integrity are highly rated by customers in the top 10 Irish brands. Customers expect an interaction with a brand to be 'easy', 'quick', 'efficient', 'prompt' and 'effective'. Consistently good service from brands is a foundational aspect of great customer experience, and although often just expected from customers as the norm, it is challenging for brands to deliver this consistent experience for every customer, every time. Great brands demonstrate strong resilience in their business models to be able to offer a reliable experience across all their channels which a customer learns to know, expect and trust.

As well as providing customers choice in how they want to interact with a brand, it’s also essential for brands to offer choice in terms of products and services. Customers want the ability to choose between a range or selection of products to select what is best for them; their personal preference. This was more obvious when customers were responding to the non-grocery and grocery retail brands. However, customers also highlighted the importance of selecting a preferred option with respect to other sectors too.

Within health insurance, the ability to choose the policy that’s best for them and understanding what is and isn’t covered were deemed important. Within financial services, customers value choice with respect to loan interest rates and payment options to suit their financial situation and outlook.

Within Ireland and globally, value is something that customers increasingly appreciate given the current cost of living challenges. Irish customers expect products and services to be 'reasonably priced', while also delivering high quality. Price and quality were factors that Irish customers recognised as important in the leading five brands. In addition to demonstrating value through product or service price point, customers appreciate when a brand demonstrates an understanding of their financial circumstances.

For example, customers highlighted how the Credit Union showed empathy when they were experiencing challenges with respect to repaying a loan and helped them through that difficult time. For health Insurance providers customers highlighted how quick payment of claims made a significant difference to them and 'didn't feel I was out of pocket for a long period of time'.

'Helpful' and 'friendly' were the top words that customers use to describe the best brands delivering great service in Ireland, demonstrating that service continues to be important and critical to success for businesses engaging with Irish customers. Credit union customers reference the importance of the role that the credit union plays in being 'local' and part of the 'community'.

The 'shopping experience' was highlighted as making a difference, the ease of finding a product in the store because of the clear layout, or simply the fact that there was a staff member available at the right time to help the customer find what they were looking for: 'friendly staff when looking for a product that I could not find on the shelf'. Although these examples highlight great in-person service, providing a great service digitally and at the end of a phone is emphasised as just as important.

Taking a more global view, customers value similar factors, stating that experiencing a seamless and connected journey is paramount. 

ESG and Ireland’s challenge of delivering the Climate Action Plan by 2030 features regularly in Irish press. Irish businesses are becoming more aware of their role in delivering to customers around their environmental, societal and governance expectations.

As part of our research, customers were asked to respond on their willingness to pay more to a company that is seen as being ethical or giving back to society. More than half of Irish customers are extremely willing or quite willing (59%) to pay more. Although this is slightly less than the global average of 65%, it remains a significant proportion which demonstrates that it is important for Irish businesses to consider in their day-to-day practices.

Also, to ensure that a brand is fit for future, this will become an increasingly important consideration. Customers under 35 – the customer of the present and future - value it even more than those 35 and over.