Understanding consumer priorities 2025
A vital part of CCW’s research is around understanding the key priorities facing customers across England and Wales when it comes to their water supply. By listening to people and their concerns, we are able to represent them as an organisation more effectively.
Our Understanding Consumer Priorities research, published in November 2023, uncovered – through a range of advanced social listening tools – some newer, emerging priorities affecting customers. These included water quality, smart meters, responsibility for maintenance of water pipes and the financial stability of water companies.
We wanted to revisit this research, to explore how these previously identified priorities have changed or shifted over the past year. There has been a large increase – 35% – in online conversations around water topics since 2023, and while these continued to focus on similar priorities to the previous round of research, we have seen significant evolution within these priorities.
Among lesser-discussed priorities, smart meters remain divisive, with mixed views on costs for consumers and transparency from water companies. Financial stability has become increasingly polarising, with some consumers advocating for nationalisation while others support privatisation. Discussions about water quality, particularly safety, have intensified, while conversations around responsibility have shifted from household maintenance (e.g. stopcocks) to broader issues like infrastructure failures affecting local communities.
These shifts suggest the potential for these priorities to develop into new, standalone themes over time. We will continue tracking them to better understand their trajectory and impact.
The findings will also help shape future CCW campaigns, ensuring we are responding to the issues that matter most to consumers in England and Wales. CCW will also continue to monitor consumer priorities over the months to come, as news and media coverage of water topics brings new concerns to the forefront.