Energy — Retail & Solar

The shape tilts toward Digital Maturity (65.7) and away from Retention & Loyalty (56.8). That tilt tells you where the industry's marketing dollars have gone and where they haven't. The businesses that correct the tilt first will see outsized returns because they're fixing the constraint that's holding everything else back.

Dimension Breakdown

Marketing in a market the government designed to be disloyal

Australian retail energy is a unique marketing environment. Government policy actively encourages switching through comparison mandates, default market offers and price transparency requirements. The result is a market where customer loyalty is structurally undermined, and marketing is a treadmill.

The composite of 62.0 reflects this reality. Acquisition at 63.4 with 30% weight is the engine that keeps the business running. But the cost of acquisition in energy is rising as comparison sites take larger margins and digital advertising becomes more competitive.

Retention at 56.8 is the most telling score. It is one of the lowest retention scores across all industries, beaten only by categories like CFD brokers. The structural explanation is real: when Energy Made Easy and comparison sites make switching trivial, loyalty requires active cultivation rather than passive inertia.

Solar sits differently within this category. The acquisition challenge is intense (30%+ of the composite weight), but the sale is project-based. Solar companies that score well on acquisition have mastered the local lead generation game: Google Ads on "[suburb] solar installation", comparison site leads, and referral incentives. The ones building long-term businesses are adding battery storage, maintenance contracts and energy monitoring to create recurring revenue.

Brand at 58.4 signals a trust problem the entire sector shares. Years of confusing pricing, aggressive door-to-door sales and high-profile billing complaints have eroded consumer trust in energy brands. The companies investing in transparency, simple pricing and genuine customer service are rebuilding trust, but it is slow work.

A 22.9-point spread between AGL Energy and Sunrun / SunPower (AU solar). That's not one industry. That's two separate leagues operating under the same name. The leaders are playing chess. The challengers are still learning the rules.

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Frequently Asked

Where does your business sit in this picture?

Energy — Retail & Solar scores 62 on average. That's one number across 6 dimensions. Your number will be different, and the breakdown will tell you exactly where to invest and where to stop wasting money.