Bargain-hunting shoppers save £1,200 a year

SAVVY shoppers are saving nearly £1 billion a week through the use of discount codes, special offers and vouchers to soften the effects of the economic downturn, a study has revealed.

A burgeoning interest and enthusiasm for bargain hunting has resulted in the average adult saving £1,196 a year, with nine in ten people using voucher schemes to book restaurants, buy discounted goods and services and take advantage of deals on the high street each week.

The survey shows Britain’s “freeconomy” is thriving as shoppers look to reduce their monthly spending, resulting in total savings of £51bn a year.

Bargain hunters have had their job made easier with the creation of discount voucher sites like Groupon, Social Living and Hot UK Deals, while financial advice sites such as Moneysavingexpert.com and Moneysupermarket.com have also promoted discount schemes and voucher codes.

The ease of access and loss of any apparent stigma about using such schemes has, the survey claims, resulted in 42 per cent of people being more interested now in getting a bargain than they were a year ago.

Richard Dodd, of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said that while discount schemes were a valuable tool for consumers, their benefits were limited for retailers. “They are another, and very successful, type of promotion,” he said.

“A record number of groceries – something like 40 per cent – are being bought on promotion, and that’s obviously part of the intense competition that’s going on between retailers. That’s a response to the really difficult times and that means customers are reluctant to spend and shops have to work hard to persuade them to spend in their store rather than somebody else’s.

“All the promotional techniques are good in that they are a means of tempting customers to spend in your store and not somebody else’s. But of course the volume of promotions is squeezing retailers’ margins and that makes life difficult for them, because they have to cover a whole range of their own costs which are going up as well, and return something to the owners of the businesses as well.”

He said voucher schemes were hardest to sustain for smaller businesses, which struggled to maintain their margins while offering bargains to shoppers.

However, according to the survey of 2,000 people by Halifax Home Insurance, the rise of the discount-voucher and price-cutting schemes has created an expectation and determination among shoppers to find a bargain.

A fifth of people questioned said they rarely bought anything at full price and 15 per cent stated they shopped around to ensure they did not pay over the odds.

Only one per cent admitted that they were too embarrassed to use discounts and even fewer, 0.5 per cent, said they would look down on people who sought bargains.

On the contrary, it seems that getting a good deal is now a social activity, with 44 per cent of those questioned sharing discounts with friends and 7 per cent even competing to find who can save most.

Joe Cushnan, retail expert and author of Retail Confidential, said that voucher schemes were the result of consumers educating themselves on how to get the most for their money.

“In the past few years businesses have taken advantage of customers, putting up prices here and there, and trying to give the impression that they’re trying to do their best for customers when actually they’re doing the best for themselves,” he said.

“That’s not a problem because when you’re in business you have to do what’s best for the balance sheet. But what I think now, is that customers are certainly becoming much wiser and more wily about what’s out there for them.”