“We have built our platform in a way that allows tailored solutions for brands from quick and easy implementations to full customisation.”
— Ankit Jain, CIMET co-founder and CEO
The imperative for consumers to be able to shop around is reflected in the retail energy sector – the first to be covered by comparisons after the sector was privatised and made subject to competition in the 1990s.
More recently, ratcheting electricity and gas bills mean there’s all the more incentive for consumers to be questioning – and testing – the rate they are being charged. This is especially the case if they have been paying the so-called “loyalty tax” of staying with the same provider amid unremitting price rises.
According to the Australian Energy Regulator’s State of the energy market 2022 report, the key to salvation lies in the palm of householders’ hands: their energy bills.
“[These] bills are the key communication between the provider and the consumer and they are a key tool for customers to understand how they are being charged,” the report says.
But while the information on the bill should enable consumers to take “confident decisions”, shopping around remains a fraught process.
“Finding the best deal or shopping around for a better one can be complicated,” the AER says. “Retail contracts or offers can vary significantly, and hundreds of retail offers may be available to customers at any one time.
Advertised offers frequently change, as do the terms and charges attached to an offer over time.
“Customers who regularly change their energy contract usually pay lower prices, reflecting that lower priced market offers often revert to higher prices after an initial benefit period.“
Mobile phone plans are also notoriously complex, accentuating the need for a true “apples and apples” comparison. The same can also be said for loans or insurance contracts.
As the role of comparison sites becomes more vital in terms of consumers making informed choices, so too does regulatory scrutiny.
In the travel sector, hotel comparison site Trivago learnt the hard way after being fined a massive $44.7 million after an action bought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The full Federal Court found that Trivago had breached consumer law by claiming the rates on its website were the cheapest, when, in fact, the site gave prominence to hoteliers paying Trivago a higher per-click fee.
So, when it comes to regulatory compliance and consumer confidence in the integrity of the portal, getting it right has never been more important – and that’s where CIMET’s underlying platform can play a key role.
“We have built our platform in a way that allows tailored solutions for brands from quick and easy implementations to full customisation,” says the co-founder and CEO Ankit Jain.
Ankit Jain, CIMET founder and CEO. CIMET
“CIMET handles all the heavy lifting by building and maintaining the comparison platforms, so the brands can focus on providing value to their customers.
“Our team provides the support and expertise to our partners to ensure they are not only compliant, but successful.“
Working with white-label partners, CIMET has achieved average annual revenue growth of 130 per cent since starting out in 2017, chalking up $11 million in the 2021-22 year.
Having started out in the retail energy sector, CIMET has expanded recently into broadband internet comparisons and is targeting other industries.
Mobile phone plans are next off the rank, with other targeted sectors including credit cards, home, car and personal loans, and life, health and pet insurance.
Jain says the high take-up of the CIMET platform is testament to the company’s investment in technology and systems.
He adds that winning a $26 million investment from iSelect was a “huge milestone and a turning point for the company”.
Meanwhile, the ACCC warns consumers that while comparison websites are a useful tool, they may have limitations and may not cover all options.
“Make sure you know how these sites work before relying on a comparison,” the regulator says.
To learn more, visit https://cimet.com.au/.
