Articles

23.7.2010 "Paradigm shift" for US purchase habits

There has been a major "paradigm shift" in consumer behavior in the US, with the recession changing people's views on value.

Deloitte, the consultancy, conducted a survey of 2,077 main household grocery buyers in America, finding that 84% were examining their spending in every category to try and save money. A further 79% believed they were "smarter" shoppers than two years ago, and 65% said a decrease in overall expenditure had not exerted a negative impact on their quality of life.

Some 81% of the sample agreed it was "fun" to see how much they would be able to reduce bills using vouchers and loyalty cards. Two-thirds of participants were more regularly reclaiming coupons, a total that includes the 39% using the web to track down special offers.

Around 60% of contributors also described themselves as having become more "price conscious" in the last 24 months. In contrast, only 15% were "buying to please myself" with a greater degree of frequency, 11% placed a particular emphasis on new products and 7% exhibited stronger levels of attachment to brands.

In all, 75% of the panel suggested the financial crisis had caused them to realise "which brands I really care about are which ones are less important to me." Elsewhere, 80% thought own-label goods were simply repackaged variants of better-known alternatives and 74% were "more open" to experimenting with lines manufactured directly by retailers.

A majority of consumers said there were only two or three brands which they "could not live without", and that private label items were of the same or superior standard to more established rivals.

B.L. 23.7.2010