Increasing consumer shift to online legal services

Consumers’ use of online legal services has more than doubled from 21% in 2012 to 44% in 2021, data from the Legal Services Consumer Panel has shown, with increasing numbers wanting providers to offer an online service that can be tracked.

Covid 19 accelerated this shift to online delivery, with 54% of consumers using online services during the pandemic.

The data showed a slow increase in consumers shopping around – 30% of consumers shopped around compared to 22% back in 2012. The period also saw an increase in consumer satisfaction levels from 79% in 2012 to 83% in 2021.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel said the findings “underscore a real opportunity to increase access for both younger and minority ethnic consumers, who are more likely to use online services”. 

Regulators, it said, “should not shy away from encouraging providers to develop online solutions, supported where appropriate by innovative use of lawtech, in parallel with maintaining face-to-face services”.

Reputation remained the most important factor in choosing a provider, cited by 80% of those polled in 2021, compared to 73% in 2012.

Sarah Chambers, chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel, said: “While shopping around has increased over the last 10 years, past experience or personal recommendations have remained the most popular ways to choose service providers, highlighting the importance of providing every client with a high quality service.

“Providers and regulators must now work harder to develop objective indicators of quality to empower clients with the information they need.”