Consumer Attitudes to Shopping and Pricing 2011
21 March 2011
The National Consumer Agency (NCA) today published its latest consumer research relating to shopping and pricing.
The survey, conducted by Amárach Research, tracks consumers’ attitudes to shopping and pricing in general, and also specifically with regard to grocery shopping.
Key results are highlighted below:
- Just over 7 in 10 (71%) consumers state that they always or sometimes shop around for better prices. Nearly a fifth (17%) of respondents found it difficult to compare prices. Consumers cited building related services, pharmacies and supermarkets as the areas where most difficulty in comparing prices was encountered.
- For 57% of consumers, price remains the leading influencing factor in determining where to shop, however it has dropped back a significant 15 percentage points from the June 2010 wave of research. The reason for this reduction may be seasonal and weather related as fieldwork for the present results was carried out during the extreme weather conditions of late 2010, therefore the Agency will continue to monitor this matter before drawing definite conclusions.
- Supermarkets (71%) and clothing shops (62%) rate highest amongst consumers in relation to getting reasonable value for money. Insurance, doctors, motor vehicles, banks, financial products, dentists, solicitors and auctioneers rate lowest from consumers’ perspective in relation to reasonable value for money. Note: Over 50% of respondents recorded a “Don’t Know” answer in relation to solicitors and auctioneers. This is likely to derive from the relative infrequency with which most consumers purchase services of this nature.
- Over half (56%) of consumers state they are aware of the price of everyday goods. The numbers who feel they are unaware of prices is increasing (26% up from 16%) for the total sample and has doubled within the category of those responsible for the main grocery shop (14% up from 7%).
- Own brand goods account for 35% of an average weekly shop, consistent with previous waves. Consumers are more likely to choose branded beer (89%), tea/coffee (84%) and baby products (81%); for own brand goods consumers are more likely to purchase toilet tissue/kitchen rolls (74%), household cleaning products (67%) and milk (56%).
The research was conducted in November/December 2010, by means of face-to-face interviewing with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 people between the ages of 15-74.
A key feature of the market research is the comparison of data collected in 6 previous waves of market research, conducted at regular intervals since December 2007
- Download a report of the main market research findings (MS Word, 1.2MB)
- View Amárach’s presentation of the key findings (PowerPoint, 1.3MB
Attachments:
shopping_and_pricing_survey
shopping_and_pricing_powerpoint
Return to Market Research
