29% YoY decline in electricity switches in April

The latest electricity figures in April show a 29% decline on last year, according to Energy UK. The decline follows a weaker YoY figure in March this year, where switching numbers declined by 4.3%.

However, April 2019 was a record breaking month topping 668,371 electricity switches, an increase of 34.1% on 2018 numbers. The April 2020 numbers, whilst show a decline overall, saw small and mid-tier suppliers become about 20% of all switches.

Why are energy switches declining?

Despite the general call to switch energy now and eventually save later, the mind of consumers appears to be more focused on the coronavirus pandemic.

Will this trend continue? And will there be a further lull going forward? We believe that the smart choice for consumers is to find savings now on their utility bills, in order to shore up as much as possible to save during these times.

It is anyone’s guess as to how consumer behaviour will change going forward. What’s certain is that the UK is heading towards the sharpest recession on record. This will mean fewer jobs in the market, and radically reduced incomes as consumer confidence causes less demand (spending has already dropped by 30%). It is only logical to think that people will start to look for savings and an obvious and easy way to make those savings is by switching to a cheaper energy tariff.