The document reports on findings from a market research study on household shopping and budgeting behaviors in Ireland. Key findings include that most shoppers compare prices and are influenced most by price and convenience in their shopping choices. Since the recession, many report cutting back on treats, buying cheaper brands, and taking more advantage of special offers. In terms of budgeting, most report their expenditures have remained the same while incomes have decreased. Many agree the recession has made them more thoughtful about spending.
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NCA Irish Consumers And The Recession January 2010
1. National Consumer Agency Market Research Findings Shopping and Pricing Household Budgeting and the Impact of the Recession January 2010 Research Conducted by
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3. Profile of Sample – I (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) Male Female % % % % 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Married Living as Married Single Wid/Div/ Sep ABC1 C2DE F50+/ F50- MAIN GROCERY SHOPPER Yes No
4. Profile of Sample – II – Main Grocery Shoppers (Base: All Mainly Responsible for Grocery Shopping in Home – 525) Male (47) Female (53) % % % % 15-24 (21) 25-34 (23) 35-44 (18) 45-54 (19) 55+ (19) Married (44) Living as Married (10) Single (35) Wid/Div/ Sep (11) ABC1 (40) C2DE (52) ( ) = Total Sample F50+/ F50- (8)
5. Profile of Sample – III – Internet Use (Base: All Respondents – 1,000) USE INTERNET No Yes EVER PURCHASED ONLINE No Yes BANKING ONLINE No Yes (Base: All Internet Users - 702) (Base: All Internet Users - 702) () = figures from wave 3 2009 (65%) (35%) (49%) (51%) (29%) (71%) % Yes % Yes % Yes Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+
7. Goods & Services Purchased in Past 12 Months – Primary (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Ever Bought Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 Shops selling clothing or footwear Supermarkets and newsagents Restaurants, take-aways or hotels Pharmacies, doctors, hospitals or other medicals Personal care e.g. hairdressers, cosmetics Goods & Services Purchased: Benchmark 2007 96 98 83 83 81
8. Goods & Services Purchased in Past 12 Months – Secondary – I (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Ever Bought Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 (+4%) Pubs Communications services including home phone Entertainment at home e.g. DVDs, CDs, games Banking products and services including a current a/c Entertainment outside the home e.g. cinema Petrol stations Goods & Services Purchased: Benchmark 2007 80 76 71 75 64 73
9. Goods & Services Purchased in Past 12 Months – Secondary 2 (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Ever Bought Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 (-4%) Insurance products and services Energy suppliers e.g. ESB, Bord Gais Local authority bin services Public transport – buses and trains TV Service Providers e.g. Sky, ntl Airlines Goods & Services Purchased: Benchmark 2007 - 72 61 59 64 -
10. Goods & Services Purchased in Past 12 Months - Tertiary ( Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Ever Bought Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 (-6%) (-6%) Shops selling furniture or household appliances Education providers e.g. schools and colleges Building and related services e.g. plumbers Travel agents Car dealers Goods & Services Purchased: Benchmark 2007 56 53 41 51 -
11. Shopping Around (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) I always compare/shop around for better prices I sometimes compare/shop around for better prices % 75% I very rarely compare/shop around for better prices I never compare/shop around for better prices 75% % % 67% Comparison of prices
12. Most Likely to Shop Around/Compare Prices in.... % Most Likely (Base: All who shop around/compare prices - 675) % Total* * New question Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Supermarkets & Newsagents Shops selling clothing or footwear Shops selling furniture or household appliances Insurance products & services Airlines Car dealers Petrol stations # All others 2% or less for most likely
13. % Price (Base: All Aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Wave 4 2009 Wave 2 2008 Convenience Shopped there previously Service Other Don’t know % Wave 3 2009 – Key Influencing Factors in Determining Where to Shop Strongest Influencing Factor
14. Biggest Influencing Factors Across Sectors – I Price Convenience Service Having an Existing Relationship* % % % % (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) * Having shopped there previously was asked in Wave 3. – * Asked of the full sample – both grocery shoppers and non-grocery shoppers. Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 – – Supermarkets and newsagents* Shops selling clothing or footwear Insurance products & services Car dealers Airlines Petrol stations Shops selling furniture/ household appliances Building & related services Restaurants or hotels Communications services Travel agents Pubs
15. Biggest Influencing Factors Across Sectors – II Price Convenience Service % % % (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) – – – – – – – – – – Having an Existing Relationship* % – – – – – * Having shopped there previously was asked in Wave 3. Entertainment at home Personal care Banking products & services Pharmacies Energy suppliers Entertainment outside the home TV service providers Public transport Local authority bin services Education providers
16. Price Comparison Sites (Base: All who use the internet – 702) % Yes, all the time Yes , sometimes Very rarely No, never % ( ) = wave 3 2009 (Base: All who sometimes/always use price comparison sites – 229) (50%) (23%) (9%) (18%) Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Top 10 sectors most likely to use a product review/website to compare prices/quality# Frequency of using sites Airlines Shops selling clothing or footwear Insurance products & services Supermarkets & Newsagents Travel Agent Car dealers Entertainment at home Shops selling furniture or household appliances Restaurants or hotels Communications services
18. Overall Awareness of the Price of Everyday Goods Total Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2008 % % % (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) 70% aware of prices 89% 87% Very aware of the prices Fairly aware of the prices Don't really know the prices Not at all aware of the prices Somewhat unaware of the prices (23) (44) (15) (10) (8) ( ) = Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 % 86% All responsible for the main grocery shop – 525 (53%)
19. Main Reasons for Choice of Main Grocery Shop Benchmark 2007 (Base: All main grocery shoppers – 525) Wave 1 2008 ** Not asked in Benchmark Wave 2 2008 % % % Wave 3 2009 % – ** ** Wave 4 2009 % Price Convenience Parking Late night opening Quality of Product Loyalty Support local shops Other Main Reasons
20. Own Brands versus Regular Brands % Own brand Regular brand (Base: All main grocery shoppers – 525) % Wave 4 2009 % % % Male Total C2DE ABC1 Female (33) (67 ) (69) (66) (71) (63) (31) (34) (29) (37) () = wave 2 2008
21. Features of Convenience which Determine Choice of Grocery Shop (Base: All choosing their main grocery shop for convenience – 225) % All others 1% or less Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 Features of Convenience Closest to me/local Parking/Free parking Good prices/best prices Late opening/24 hours Knowledge of the store/used to it Easy access Friendly staff/know staff personally I can get everything under the one roof Like the products/better choice/wider range of goods Habit
22. Change in Grocery Shopping Since the Start of the Year (Base: All main grocery shoppers – 525) Yes No (50%) (50%) () = Wave 3 2009 % Male (38%) 45% Female (54%) 58% ABC1 (58%) 56% C2DE (49%) 59% Change in Grocery Shopping
23. Changes Made to the Grocery Shopping Since the Start of the Year % Wave 3 2009 (Base: All who changed their shopping behaviour since the start of the year – 291) % % Wave 1 2008 Wave 2 2008 (-8%) (+14%) ** Not asked in previous waves ** ** % Wave 3 2009 (+14%) (+15%) (+12%) Cutting back on treats for you/family Buying cheaper versions of products (e.g. own brands rather than regular) Taking more advantage of special offers, using coupons, etc. Buy less Spreading your grocery shopping over different supermarkets and stores to get the best value Switched your main grocery shopping from a different retailer to the one you use now Started shopping up North (across the boarder) Do without or cut back e.g. buy less meat Changes to Grocery Shopping
24. Price Cuts & Special Offers (Base: All responsible for the main grocery shop - 525) Long Term Lower Prices Regular Promotions & Special Offers Don’t know * New Question What would you prefer to see more of within supermarkets?
25. Funding of Promotions & Special Offers (Base: All responsible for the main grocery shop - 525) * New Question No Yes Do you know how promotions and special offers are funded by Supermarkets? # all others 1% or less How are they funded? % Through lower prices and they make no profit Buy in bulk Wholesalers pay for them The supplier offers them to the supermarket Sell below cost to get business Producers are charged for shelf price
26. Special Offers & Promotions (Base: All responsible for the main grocery shop - 525) No Yes Are you aware that retailers sometimes sell items at a loss in order to entice customers into the stores? No Yes Do you actively seek out special offers & promotions in various supermarkets? * New Question
28. Household Income & Expenditure (Base: All aged 15-74– 1,000) Increased a lot Increased a little Remained the same Decreased a little Decreased a lot Don’t know % Expenditure % Income 53% * New Question
29. Spending / Thrift (Base: All aged 15-74– 1,000) (4) Strongly Agree (5) (2) Strongly Disagree (1) * New Question (74) (69) (69) (67) (50) (39) The recession has focused me on thinking carefully about what and when I buy The recession is a good opportunity to pick up bargains in the sales I am consciously trying to buy fewer things nowadays I am putting off buying large spend items until the current situation improves When shopping I budget for every cent I regret the amount of money I have spent on stuff over the last few years Neither/ Nor /DK 16 20 15 19 22 22
30. Coping Behaviour (Base: All aged 15-74– 1,000) * New Question (63) (61) (56) (38) (4) Strongly Agree (5) (2) Strongly Disagree (1) I am actively seeking out cheaper ways of living I would prefer to switch between brands of things I buy than do without them at all I still feel that it is better to pay more for quality products than settle for cheaper brands I prefer to go without than sacrifice on quality Neither/Nor /Don’t Know 26 24 25 28
31. Lifestyle (Base: All aged 15-74– 1,000) * New Question (67) (66) (53) (52) (4) Strongly Agree (5) (2) Strongly Disagree (1) Despite the recession I feel I am enjoying life as much as ever I am cutting back on all non-essential spending I am reluctant to plan any holidays until things improve in the economy I am seeking out alternative ways to socialise that are less expensive Neither/Nor /Don’t know 19 21 27 24
32. Change in Behaviour as A Result of Recession – I (Base: All aged 15-74– 1,000) Less % * New Question The Same % More % Budgeting for household expenses Collecting & using coupons when buying things Using loyalty scheme points when making a purchase Buying goods on special offer Using online price comparison sites Buying items online Preparing home-made meals from scratch Eating takeaway foods Never Did It 16 28 27 9 60 54 21 14
33. Change in Behaviour as A Result of Recession – II (Base: All aged 15-74– 1,000) * New Question Less % The Same % More % Spending time ‘bargain hunting’ when buying groceries Spreading your shopping across a number of shops Shopping at grocery discount stores such as Aldi or Lidl Never Did It 24 27 27 22 21 28
34. Change in Behaviour as A Result of Recession – III (Base: All aged 15-74– 1,000) * New Question Less % The Same % More % Planning your weekly shopping in advance Buying grocery items in bulk Spend on groceries overall Buying private label/own label goods Buying Irish produced goods Buying eco-friendly goods Never Did It 32 43 15 18 11 30