Customers are dealing with information overload by turning to friends, family and social networks in energy as much as they are for every other decision set they face.

In an effort to understand how the industry’s engagement with its customers has changed and is set to change further, IBM took to the streets of New York City with a camera crew. The customers they interview in this video are a mere microcosm of the company’s massive global consumer survey conducted each year.

The company surveyed more than 10,000 people across 15 countries “to explore the wants and needs of energy consumers worldwide.”

They found a lack of consumer understanding, but also a surprising degree of credibility among consumers facing a dizzying number of choices and often confusing industry terms. “I just kind of trust them in the end,” one man says in this video of his energy providers, underlining what IBM’s Vice President for Global Energy and Utility Industry Michael Valocchi says is the industry’s need to speak the language the consumer uses.

Breaking Energy has covered IBM’s smart grid and energy industry business regularly, including featuring photos from its Malta smart grid project and spoke with Valocchi about the firm’s international smart grid efforts.