Consumer Behavior
Emotional connection, pricing driving purchasing decisions
April 14, 2023
A good number of U.S. and U.K. consumers, 70% and 76% respectively, expect the current economic downturn to last more than 12 months and more than 90% of shoppers are changing their spending habits due to the economy, higher prices and interest rates.
Those are top findings from a SheerID survey on how the economy is impacting consumer spend and spending habits. It polled more than 4,000 consumers in the U.S. and U.K. and was conducted by Centiment in January, according to a press release.
The majority of consumers are spending less in more than half of the categories in the poll: travel (51%), furniture (52%), apparel, footwear, and accessories (53%), gaming (53%), electronics (54%), take-out/food delivery (62%), and craft/home improvement supplies (72%).
Survey respondents said they are inspired to purchase from retailers who create an emotional connection with them while also providing price relief.
When asked what would motivate them to try a new brand, 66% indicated "an exclusive discount for my community" is the preferred option. This was by far the most popular tactic, beating out a general discount (55%), better customer service (37%), access to buy-now-pay-later financing (26%), and even personalized offers based on interests collected from their website activity (19%).
More than 60% of all the consumer communities surveyed said they feel more emotionally connected to brands that give them an exclusive offer. More than 70% of consumer communities said they would likely join a brand's loyalty program to receive an exclusive offer.
"There's no question that the down economy has stoked consumer pessimism and chilled spending, but these findings give brands a clear path to engage shoppers," Jake Weatherly, CEO of SheerID, said in the release. "Providing consumers with an exclusive offer based on the group status that they are proud of is a tried and true strategy for meeting both their emotional and financial needs. And when brands do that they attract and retain loyal customers in good times and bad."
