‘Most shoppers now seek discounts, brand loyalty at test’

Almost nine in ten shoppers now actively seek out more deals and discounts when shopping for groceries, says a recent report, adding that most shoppers have switched from branded goods to own label ones to save on food costs.

According to latest research from Pricer- provider of shelf edge automation and communication solutions – 92 per cent of shoppers are now price conscious, rising by +33 percentage points since 2021 before the cost-of-living crisis began, and increasing to 94 per cent of Millennials and 96 per cent of Gen Z.

Almost nine in ten (87 per cent) say they now actively seek out more deals and discounts when shopping for groceries – up from 60 per cent in 2021, a +27 percentage point increase – and rising to 92 per cent of female shoppers.  Meanwhile, 72 per cent of UK shoppers now seek out the cheapest prices on the grocery items they buy.

Loyalty is also being tested by soaring food prices.

Over two thirds (68 per cent) say they have switched from branded goods to supermarket own label to save on food costs – up from 49 per cent in 2021, a +19 percentage point increase – rising to 75 per cent of Millennials.  61 per cent have swapped their usual branded goods for branded value lines, while 68 per cent are sticking to supermarket own label, and will only trade up to branded goods if the branded items are on offer or discounted.

“Increasingly the shelf-edge is becoming the battle ground where shopper loyalty is either won or lost,” said Peter Ward, Country Manager for UK & Ireland at Pricer.  “Eager to keep down the price of spiraling food bills, our research shows 83 per cent of UK shoppers will now compare prices at the shelf-edge to keep the cost of groceries down – up +21 percentage points since 2021, before the cost-of-living crisis took hold.

“Giving consumers access to real-time pricing and promotions information, served digitally to them at the shelf-edge, not only helps customers feel supported in their increasingly price-conscious buying missions, but can also help retailers showcase the efforts they are going to in order to keep prices low and support shoppers by offering the best prices or deals across their sales channels,” Ward concluded.

Pricer’s poll also shows that this inflationary pressure on consumers’ disposable incomes was prompting six in ten (61 per cent) of UK shoppers to switch some of their grocery shop from their traditional supermarket brands to discounters, such as Aldi or Lidl, while 56 per cent said they had swapped their entire shop to discounters.