The programme looked at online wills from a consumer perspective, seeking to understand more about who is making them and why; how they make their decisions; what their choice criteria is and importantly where charities and charitable bequests fit in.
The report shares the topline findings and key headlines from the research. We are grateful to our learning circle members for agreeing to share the information in this briefing more widely.
Online wills have seen significant growth in the last few years, as the pandemic accelerated digital adoption across all ages in society, people were forced to confront their own mortality and companies and services were forced to adapt and provide more services online.
In a relatively short space of time, the number and variety of online will providers have proliferated, and their products have evolved and become more established and sophisticated. Many providers have seen the charity sector as an opportunity to help them reach a fragmented and saturated consumer market, and several online will brands are now well embedded in the legacy sector.
Online wills are commonly used by charities as a vehicle to recruit potential new legacy donors and whilst there was initial caution and reservation, they are now embraced by legacy marketers as they provide a tangible, measurable way of evaluating their legacy marketing, in a scalable, low-cost way.
There has been much discussion about the relative merits and challenges associated with online wills but little that focused on the consumer perspective. So, this programme aimed to step back and look at the world of Online Wills through the eyes of consumers.
