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IRISH SHOPPERS’ THRIFTY buying habits have become entrenched after the crash and it could take years before big-spending consumers make their way back to cash registers.
And it’s in the supermarket aisles where cash-strapped customers are watching their cents the most – with more than half planning to shop around for their groceries more than they are already over the next 12 months.
The findings come from the latest consumer survey for Retail Ireland, the retail arm of business lobbyists Ibec.
It revealed 40% of shoppers had put off making big-ticket purchases in the last two years and only 27% were planning a significant spend in the next year, compared to 46% who were “unlikely” to make a major buy.
We’re all about price. And those loyalty cards
When it came to doing their grocery shopping, 52% of those surveyed expected to shop around more for the basics in the next 12 months – including 30% who said they would compare prices “a lot more”.
Price was the most important factor when deciding what to buy at the supermarket for 40% of people and value-for-money was the next highest at 23%.
Only 8% listed a product being Irish-made as their key consideration, while 5% put down that environmental concerns were most important to them.
Loyalty cards were king among shoppers, according to the survey, with 47% of people admitting they used them when buying groceries, while just 3% said they used an app.
Before and after
In other findings, the survey revealed:
Time for some tax cuts then
Retail Ireland director Stephen Lynam said locals’ shopping habits that changed during the crash showed no sign of changing back and consumers remained cautious, despite getting more optimistic about their financial prospects.
“Positive economic trends mean the government finally has a chance to ease the pressure on consumers in the upcoming budget,” he said.
“Following years of painful tax hikes, income tax along with other consumer taxes should be reduced.”
The survey also said 69% of people were feeling more positive about their finances than they were 12 months ago.
Brendan Beere from Millward Brown, which carried out the research, said: “Recession-shopper behaviour has been normalised for the Irish consumer in 2014.
“While consumers are more optimistic about their financial outlook, they remain cautious, giving due consideration to all types of spend from grocery to big-ticket items.”
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Imagine how much we could increase the wages of nurses, teachers and gardaí if we didn’t piss away $9billion on housing economic migrants and NGOs.
@Tom Barry: they prefer looking after economic migrants more than there own citizens nowadays it is actually disgraceful tbh even more so on people who keep voting these in we really need a government that looks after our own PROBLEMS first and foremost before they start looking after everybody else simple
@Happy As Larry: Be sure to let us know once our own problems are sorted so that we can move on to other pressing matters
@Happy As Larry: It’s an awful pity a lot of ‘our own’ can’t look after themselves…..full employment and there are still huge numbers that couldn’t be bothered working and want to be looked after from the cradle to the grave….also never mind the live register of unemployment,the won’t work/will never work are not on those numbers.
@SYaxJ2Ts: Hi Kev, is it really the states duty to deal with any issues except it’s own? Charity should be up to the public, spending there own money as they chose and if that’s to help others less well off in other countries, fair play. Charity should not be something that is mandated by the state at the tax payers expense.
@John Terry: i completely agree, dublin teens openin their legs and bang free gaf, then they move the father of the future sponge in and still claim single parents along with rent, elecy, gas allowances and money to spend for the week on top of that, i know one getting over 600 a week AFTER her rent and bills are paid as a lone parent with the father of the baby living with ber
@he didnt take the 120k because he already got it s: ….lol,so it’s only Dublin teens?….
@John Terry: how can there be full employment AND huge numbers of people not working… the makes absolutely no sense. It’s one or the other
Sounds like the Government is dragging its feet in the hope that inflation falls further soon.
Inflation may be coming down Éamon Ryan but prices are not, so don’t see how you maintain its good, people’s wages did not go up in line with inflation
@andy murphy: someone is clueless about economics lol
Wow! I’m shocked, this government wouldn’t lie straight in the bed. What a shower of wasters!
Nothing short of disgraceful inflation reduction has very little to do with gov policy but suddenly a bargaining tool that was not used in the last talks shame on you
Having negotiated salary increases over the last two years that were way behind inflation the unions are once again playing a blinder in helping the govt reduce people’s wages in real terms. Would be really interesting to see if these union negotiators end up being rewarded in the future with payments from govt in the form of board positions on various quangos. The old imno head retired on a pension way above what nurses get and was also rewarded with payed seat on a lucrative quango for those on it. This for ensuring nurses pay kept well below what it should be, Sile is carrying on where he left off
It is depressing to see people who post blaming immigrants for all our ills. Dragging out wage negotiations for public service workers was going on for years, long before we had the large number of immigrants.
Journal is a joke you can’t leave a comment on a serious issue graham lennihan is mostly correct why can’t we say it like it is im a male I wasn’t sure as I child I had to become happy with life allow children to develop and decide stop this pressure
@Philip Johnson: and yet here you are, leaving a comment that your claiming your not allowed to make
@Philip Johnson: GL is even less correct than your English.
Any pay increases should be tied to serious reform of working practices/contracts and especially accountability. The quality of our public services vs the money we pump into it is dismal.
Pantomime……
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