Since the early days of the smart grid era, when emerging technologies were creating new avenues for expanding the utility-customer relationship, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) has segmented the U.S. population to illuminate consumer needs and identify next steps for electricity providers looking to increase customer engagement and satisfaction.
Through the advent of smart thermostats and other smart home devices, the rise of electric transportation and the challenges brought about by COVID-19 and inflation, SECC has updated its segmentation framework nine times to keep pace with societal and industry changes.
Now, the “Consumer Pulse and Market Segmentation – Wave 9” report, released in mid-August, offers a fresh lens on U.S. energy consumers, grouping them into four distinct segments based on their attitudes toward technology, their electricity priorities and their engagement with providers.
The new segments reflect the diverse motivations and barriers shaping consumer behavior in today’s evolving energy ecosystem. On a spectrum from the least favorable to most favorable toward technology and energy efficiency, the four segments are Turnkey Comfort, Tech-Cautious Savers, Curious and Capable and Informed and Engaged.
At 25 percent of the U.S. general population, the Tech-Cautious Savers are an essential segment for electricity providers and other stakeholders to understand – not only because of their size, but because they are among the most financially vulnerable and least engaged consumers.
In this month’s blog, we look at three characteristics that define this segment and can help electricity providers identify opportunities for improving engagement and satisfaction:
1. Energy affordability is essential for this segment.
Tech-Cautious Savers are more likely to be older adults, often women, with lower incomes and no children at home. They are the least likely of all segments to say their electric bill is affordable – only 51 percent of this segment agree, compared to 72 percent of the general population. In contrast, 93 percent of the Turnkey Comfort, another segment that tends to be comprised of older adults, think that their electric bills are affordable.
When it comes to priorities for their electricity providers, their top concerns are also related to energy affordability. About half (51 percent) say that their priority is that their providers help them save money on their electric bills. Affordability is a consideration for other segments, especially the younger Curious and Capable, but priorities for their providers are more evenly dispersed among reliability and environmental concerns as well.
The Tech-Cautious Savers place less emphasis on environmental goals, grid reliability or home energy efficiency than other segments. Nearly half (47 percent) say saving energy makes their home uncomfortable, and over a third (38 percent) find it inconvenient. This reflects a pragmatic, budget-driven mindset. They will conserve if it’s easy and doesn’t compromise comfort, but they are unlikely to invest in upgrades or adopt new habits without clear benefits.
2. They are wary of technology and slow to adopt.
For many consumers today, smart home devices and automation are gateways to energy savings. However, there is a considerable divide between the segments that tend to have older consumers – Turnkey Comfort and Tech-Cautious Savers – and the two with younger and middle-aged consumers – Curious and Capable and Informed and Engaged. For the Tech-Cautious Savers, in particular, technology is far more often a barrier than a gateway.
Sixty-nine percent of Tech-Cautious Savers say that they cannot keep up with technological changes, compared to just 36 percent of the Informed and Engaged, which leans toward the Gen X and Millennial generations. Additionally, smart home device ownership and interest in using these devices for home energy management is the lowest of all four segments.
For electricity providers, this aversion to technology presents a major hurdle to engagement; programs requiring mobile apps, online enrollment or device installation are much less likely to resonate. However, as the Tech-Cautious Savers express a need to save money on their bills, technology-based programs can still be viable if made easy. With demand response specifically, they have among the highest rates of interest, potentially driven by the expected bill savings.
3. They are the least satisfied with their electricity providers.
The Tech-Cautious Savers are the least satisfied and least trusting of their electricity providers – by a considerable margin. On a 10-point scale, with “10” being “extremely satisfied”, the Tech-Cautious Savers rate their providers a 6.6 – significantly less than the Turnkey Comfort and Informed and Engaged segments, who both rate their providers a 7.9 out of 10. With trust and reliability scores, we see a similar picture play out: Tech-Cautious Savers are by far the lowest.
In addition, many Tech-Cautious Savers have had little or no contact with their electricity providers in the past year, and when they do engage, it’s often about billing issues or to report outages. Fifty-nine percent of them have not contacted their providers in the past year – second only to the Turnkey Comfort (69 percent).
However, all hope is not lost. The engagement mantra for this segment is “make living affordable and easy”, and every interaction should reinforce that the provider is a trusted partner in keeping costs down without compromising comfort. Providers can show direct, personalized savings estimates based on current usage, and they can simplify participation by avoiding app downloads or lengthy online forms. Instead, promote programs directly on the bill with a phone number for live assistance and highlight the immediate benefits of programs like demand response.
In this era of rising electricity demand, increasing rates and accelerating technology adoption, it’s easy for the industry to focus on tech-forward, environmentally motivated consumers like the Informed and Engaged. However, the Tech-Cautious Savers – 25 percent of the population – cannot be overlooked. They are among the most vulnerable to price increases, the least likely to seek out programs on their own, and the most in need of personalized, accessible solutions. By building trust, removing barriers and delivering clear, immediate value, the industry can help Tech-Cautious Savers manage costs, maintain comfort and participate in the energy transition.
To learn more about the Tech-Cautious Savers and the three other segments, read SECC’s “Consumer Pulse and Market Segmentation – Wave 9” report here.