LetBritain has conducted research with a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults in order to gage consumer sentiment. The research has shown more and more people are turning to companies that are either online-only or offer an online service. To this end, 29% of the consumers said that they actively avoid companies that do not offer an online service. This percentage increases in London, a more technologically demanding part of the country where 51% consciously avoid companies with no online option.
LetBritain is an online letting agency and their research has shown most discontent in their sector. There has been a shift over recent years to online services across a wide range of sectors, however there is a heightened level of discontent by both tenants and landlords that there isn’t a simpler, online letting process available yet. Generation Rent appear to be frustrated at the moment with the archaic processes that are used by high-street estate agents. 31% of the adults involved in the study say using high street agents is outdated and leads to being bogged down by reams of paper. 25% have expressed their preference for using online-only services to source and secure rental properties, and 32% say that they don’t have any time to use services that require them to visit a physical premise during working hours.
With the annual rent growth seen to double recently it is vital that high street estate agents offer an online service in order to avoid the risk of being left behind. Commenting on the results of the LetBritain study, the CEO of the online letting agent, Fareed Nabir has said that over the course of the last decade, online solutions have improved significantly, and transformed the way we carry out businesses today. It would now appear that the rental market is falling short, with a large number of high street real estate agents not embracing the digital solutions that are available and can revolutionise business practices.
