6th Consumer Scoreboard - October 2011
«Making markets work for consumers»
The 6th Consumer Markets Scoreboard
ranks 51 consumer markets, covering more than 60% of household budgets, in terms of consumer trust, satisfaction, the ease of switching and comparing offers, problems and complaints, choice and prices.
Main findings:
- As in 2010, services markets continue to underperform, with financial services and network services all below average. Investments (including pensions and securities), real estate services and mortgage loans are the three lowest-performing consumer markets.
- With a few exceptions (second-hand cars, vehicle fuels), goods markets on the whole appear to be working considerably better.
- Compared with 2010, the electricity and fuels markets have deteriorated most, which may reflect consumer sentiment about electricity and fuel prices.
As a follow-up, the European Commission will launch two market studies on:
- Consumer credit , which scores poorly, particularly in terms of trust and comparability. The findings will feed into the upcoming review of the Consumer Credit Directive.
- Fuels market , which ranks second-lowest among goods markets and is the fourth largest market in terms of its share in the household budget.