Your kids are more likely to switch broadband than you are

Millennials are most likely to change broadband providers, although the gap between young and old appears to be closing.

A study by professional services firm EY suggests younger people are more aware of price comparison and less likely to stick out poor customer service.

Consumers who fell into this study’s categorisation of ‘Generation Y’ changed their broadband two or three times in the past five years.

The EY survey was carried out in April 2017, and categorised consumers according to age: Generation Z (18-21), Generation Y (22-40), Generation X (41-52) and Baby Boomers (53-71).

Nearly half of millennials (47%) cited poor customer service as the reason they left their previous supplier.

Martyn Whistler, global lead for media and entertainment at EY said “where providers fail to meet customer expectations for younger consumers in particular, loyalty decreases significantly”.

Baby boomers tend to be much more loyal with only 27% changing supplier in the past three years because customer service fell short of expectations.

However, the majority of this demographic – a whopping 82% – said they were frustrated by long waiting times when getting through to call centres.

73% also complained about their broadband provider using non-UK call centres.

The rise and fall of the High Street

Brand loyalty was strongest among the youngest respondents, with 25% favouring high street shopping over online retailers.

Interestingly, both the youngest and oldest consumers who took part in the survey share a desire to buy offline.

43% of Gen Z and Baby Boomers said they would only buy a new mobile device after viewing it in person.

Keeping up with the Joneses

Younger consumers, particularly those in Generations Y and Z (18 to 40-year-olds) were shown to be more interested in smart devices, like Apple’s Smart Watch, than TVs or tablets.

Older users are thought to be more committed to their tech, choosing to replace their devices when they become obsolete.

Beyond devices, the way different age groups use broadband is also changing.

Older people are much more frequent users of email, whereas 22% younger people tend to prioritise social media for making contact versus 11% overall.

MAIN IMAGE: Marco Verch/Flickr