Consumer understanding is considered to be a key component of the consumer outcomes of the Consumer Duty and an area where the FCA is looking for changes. The key points raised in the discussion include:

• Through the lens of consumer understanding, Consumer Duty offers the industry an opportunity to reflect on their products and the customers
• New regulation unlocks a better way to understand our customer and provide a more personalised customer journey
• Consumer Duty requires a notable shift in mindset from products to customers, designing our thinking towards customers from the outset
• To enhance consumer understanding, the industry needs to build an element of trust amongst customers and colleagues.

Following on from the conference discussion, we asked one of the session panellists Clare Hughes, Partner at Addleshaw Goddard, to provide an analysis on the conference session – and these were the key points she made:

• Customer understanding is so much more than just re-writing your communications in plain language
• Consumer understanding is a vehicle by which you can build relationships with your customers, and a way to rebuild the public's trust and confidence in financial services

You can read the summary of proceedings and Clare's analysis in full here.