Think back around 5 years, can you remember the feeling of satisfaction that you could search for the best deal on something like car insurance by visiting a single site and not phoning round a number of brokers?
Comparison sites had burst onto the scene promising a simple solution to a number of rather dull tasks, but if we move forward a few years, it seems that our love for these sites is waning, as competition in the comparison market has increased.
A recent survey by group buying community website Incahoot shows the level of dissatisfaction there now is towards comparison sites amongst consumers.
Despite price comparison sites’ claims they will save consumers money by showing them the cheapest deals, half of consumers (47%) think price comparison sites don’t offer the best deals in the market.
And while many price comparison sites imply they show all deals currently available, a staggering 89% of consumers don’t trust them to pick up all the offers that would suit their needs.
It’s not just price comparison sites’ inability to save them money that has irked consumers. More than a third (37%) voiced disappointment with the results and service they received from such sites in the past. In fact, a third of people (29%) don’t use price comparison sites at all. Again, failing to offer the best deals or the best insurance cover were cited as reasons, but nearly one in 10 (8%) said they had never used price comparison sites because they found them simply too difficult to use.
The survey also doesn’t even mention the fact that all these sites seem to insist on extremely annoying advertising. CompareTheMarket’s meerkat ads were originally a clever way of getting brand awareness in a busy market, but they’ve probably overdone the meerkat now and seem to have driven the other sites to creating their own naff ads.
What do you think, has your opinion of comparison sites changed, and if so, why? Let us know in the comments below.