Eighty-five per cent of shoppers will use a promotional offer when carrying out their grocery shopping this Christmas, with almost half of shoppers (47 per cent) planning to use everyday low price offers.
A recent survey of over 2,000 adults by coupon experts Valassis revealed that more people are looking for promotional offers this year than in 2013, with two-thirds (67 per cent) of shoppers citing the cost of living as the main driver of this behaviour.
Despite the improving economic environment, many consumers are not yet feeling the benefit, and continue to seek out money-saving methods. In fact, almost half of shoppers (49 per cent) will use three or more promotional offers when doing their Christmas grocery shopping.
Promotions are set to influence customer loyalty this festive season, with 84 per cent of those surveyed saying they are tempted to shop away from their usual supermarket by a suitable promotion – an increase from 78 per cent last year. ‘Everyday low price promises’ is now the most important driver of ‘shopping away’ from a main supermarket, with 46 per cent responding that they are encouraged by this type of offer.
According to Valassis’ survey, the ‘deep discounters’ will be the main beneficiaries of consumers’ spend, with 26 per cent of shoppers intending to visit Aldi (up from 13 per cent last year) and 26 per cent intending to visit Lidl (up from 8 per cent last year) for parts of their Christmas grocery shopping.
Charles D’Oyly, managing director of Valassis, said:“With almost 40 per cent of shoppers expressing concern about how much they will spend on Christmas this year, promotions are set to play a key role in keeping down the cost of the festive food shop.
'Such is the pull of promotions that supermarket loyalty tends to dwindle in the face of securing a good deal.Price triumphs over quality with only 21 per cent of shoppers saying that quality is more important this year than last year – this compares to 49 per cent in 2013.”
The research was conducted between 28 November and 2 December 2014 by Gfk NOP on behalf of Valassis, the UK’s largest coupon and voucher services provider.
