Abstract
The deregulation of the electricity markets in the European Union and the transformation caused by digital technologies and customer-centric strategies have altered the industry ecosystem, forcing companies to adapt to the new scenario. This research study aims to give a global overview of the digital transformation and channel integration of free-market electricity retailers in Spain from a consumer’s perspective. The analysis includes all free-market electricity retailers that operate at the national scale, explores the level of digital transformation and channel integration of these companies based on a structured set of indicators, and measures them using the mystery shopper technique. The results show important differences between leading retailers and the rest of companies, evidence an important lag of the sector when compared to other retail markets and an overall lack of multichannel and omnichannel strategies, show a strong effort of retailers in online billing and self-service customer data management, and reveal shortcomings in the availability of communication channels with customers.
Highlights
The deregulation of the electricity market in the European Union has transformed the landscape of the sector [1]
Most companies are investing in adapting their commercialization strategies to the new digital era and, despite the abundance of scholarly research, there is still a need for the investigation of the opportunities and challenges emerging from digital transformation processes [4]
The analysis takes the consumer’s view of the firm; that is, the analysis of the different indicators of digital transformation, as well as those referring to channel integration, only take into account the perception of consumers about the different processes and services offered by the companies
Summary
The deregulation of the electricity market in the European Union has transformed the landscape of the sector [1]. In Spain, this deregulation has led to a slow transition from a State monopoly of all the activities—generation, transport, distribution, and commercialization—to a free market where the pressure of newly established companies forces companies to adapt their offer. This change comes hand in hand with the process of digital transformation across all industries [2] and the emergence of new business approaches and customer-centric models where the value for customers go beyond the mere provision of the service and instead lies on delivering complete and satisfactory customer experiences [3].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
