Study Shows Consumers Value Thrift
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national study of American spending habits shows that a high percentage of U.S. consumers are comparison shopping, seeking advice before making purchases and participating in discount and rewards programs. These behaviors are especially prevalent among consumers who say they are saving more of their money.
The Bank of America Consumer Purchasing and Savings Habits survey revealed that what could be termed the following “prudent” purchasing behaviors are more common among consumers who are saving more, rather than less, of their money now than they were in January 2009:
- 75% of consumers saving more of their money are doing more research and comparison shopping prior to making a purchase, as opposed to 69% of those saving less.
- 62% of consumers saving more of their money are seeking more advice to make sure what they buy is the best product for them, as opposed to 42% of those saving less.
- 79% of consumers saving more of their money are dining in more often, as opposed to 70% of those saving less.
- 67% of consumers saving more of their money are entertaining at home more often, as opposed to 54% of those saving less.
- 44% of consumers saving more of their money are taking advantage of rewards clubs and programs with retailers, as opposed to 38% of those saving less.
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recent study on consumer price sensitivity from The Gordman Group echoes the results of the Bank of America study. The “Retail Trend Tracker Survey” shows that price is the most popular factor affecting consumer apparel and home goods purchases. Consumers’ heightened interest in searching for the lowest prices most likely contributed to Wal-Mart’s
record net sales in fiscal 2009, as well as expansion plans this year by dollar and overstock retailers including
Dollar General and
Big Lots.
A number of retailers are also responding to consumers’ increased interest in eating and entertaining at home. Grocery retailers including
Supervalu and
Fresh and Easy recently introduced programs designed to make it easy for customers to prepare meals at home, and quick service restaurant chain Steak n Shake is creating a line of retail
take-home food products. Supermarket retailer Safeway is even starting to sell its proprietary brand of healthy food products via
other supermarket chains.
Somewhat surprisingly, even among consumers saving more of their money, less than half reported taking advantage of loyalty programs. Nonetheless, drugstore chain CVS is
extending rewards for prescription purchases to its loyalty program members, and quick service restaurant retailer T.G.I. Friday’s
recently expanded a special loyalty promotion to new as well as existing members. Supermarket retailer Kroger has
improved redemption of coupons for its loyalty program participants by specifically targeting discounts using data mining technology.
The Bank of America Consumer Purchasing and Savings Habits survey was administered as a 22-question telephone survey to 1,000 adult Americans. Interviews were conducted by Braun Research from March 23 to March 27, 2009. Results are reported at the 95 percent confidence level with a margin of error of 4.4%. Results are weighted, and projectable to, the general U.S. adult population. Dan Ariely, Duke University professor of Behavioral Economics, assisted in analyzing survey results.
