FDBusiness.com

New research from IGD reveals food prices top the list of factors UK shoppers think will have the most impact on their financial circumstances in the coming year, with two thirds (65%) saying this will have an impact. Meanwhile, energy bills (58%), petrol prices (53%), not having a wage increase (31%) and interest rates (28%) make up the remaining top five factors shoppers say will have an impact in the year ahead.

IGD’s research also highlights the top tactics being used by savvy shoppers to save money on groceries. Overall, cooking from scratch or with leftovers tops the list of things shoppers do to save money, with 83% claiming they do this. Some 65% have visited two or more stores on the same shopping trip and 63% have made packed lunches.

Meanwhile, 37% of shoppers have taken products out of their grocery basket, in-store and online, before they get to the till to save money. A further 28% have grown their own fruit or veg and over one in five (19%) have skipped a meal to save.

Highlighting savvy shopping habits to bag a bargain in the grocery aisles, over a third (33%) of UK shoppers have shopped at a specific time of the day to benefit from ‘reduced to clear’ reductions and over one in ten (13%) have asked a member of staff to reduce the price of a grocery products that was damaged or at the end of its shelf life. Those in London are the most likely to ask for a reduction, with 18% of shoppers in the region claiming they have done this, compared to just 10% in the Midlands, which is the least likely region to do so.

Vanessa Henry, Shopper Insight Manager at IGD, says: “UK shoppers are really switched on where personal and wider economic circumstances are concerned. It’s therefore no surprise that we’re seeing such a proactive and creative approach to grocery shopping. With food and drink prices continuing to show year-on-year price deflation for the time being it’s encouraging to see that consumers are ahead of the curve by adopting such savvy tactics to save money. Savvy shopping behaviour has become ingrained in the shopper mindset and our research highlights that even when a grocery bargain is not on offer, consumers are not afraid to ask for it. While the reduced shelf may not have been first point of call previously, today’s shoppers are not only actively using it, but timing their shopping around it.”

Furthermore, it seems coupon culture is also playing a part in UK shopping habits as 77% of shoppers claim to have used a coupon to reduce their overall bill and 31% to have collected a coupon or receipt from someone else to benefit from a loyalty scheme or special offer in the past six months. Furthermore, one in five (18%) claim to have paid for shopping at the checkout in two parts in order to benefit from a loyalty scheme or special offer.