Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
-
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
-
- Reasons for budget shopping continue to accumulate
- Most consumers continue to tighten their belts
- Strict budgeting still less prevalent than opportunistic money-saving tactics
- Supermarkets benefit from home dining, stronger private labels
- Shopping at Walmart becoming a universal budgeting behavior
- Other mass merchants struggle to strike the right recessionary tone
- Warehouse clubs balance stock-up basics with treasure hunt
- High-end department stores resort to discounts and sales
- Value-priced department stores hold their own
- Discount stores receive a recession-induced boost
- Clothing shoppers cutting back and bargain hunting
- Shoppers only slightly less likely to seek out deals on personal hygiene
Insights and Opportunities
-
- Break the discount mentality
- Focus on value, not just price
- The promise of private label
- Multi-channel integration
Inspire Insights
-
- Premium and Cutthroat
- Implications
- The Time Bubble Bursts
- Implications
Market Drivers
-
- Key points
- Belt tightening continues as the reasons for it accumulate
- Consumer confidence
-
- Figure 1: Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, January 2008-Aug 2009
- Unemployment rate
-
- Figure 2: U.S. national unemployment rate, January 2007-August 2009*
- Real household income
-
- Figure 3: U.S. real median household income, by race and Hispanic origin, 1967-2008
- Home values
-
- Figure 4: U.S. existing home sales, median price, 2006-09
- Consumer prices
-
- Figure 5: Graph of Consumer Price Index, all items, January 2007-August 2009*
- Figure 6: Consumer Price Index, all items, January 2007-August 2009*
-
- Figure 7: Consumer Price Index, food at home, January 2007-August 2009*
- Figure 8: Consumer Price Index, food away from home, January 2007-August 2009*
-
- Figure 9: Consumer Price Index, motor fuel, January 2007-August 2009*
- Figure 10: Consumer Price Index, household energy, January 2007-August 2009*
Year-Over-Year Budgeting Trends
-
- Key points
- A majority of consumers continue to tighten their belts
-
- Figure 11: Year-over-year budgeting trends, by gender, July 2009
- Adults of all ages budgeting more
-
- Figure 12: Year-over-year budgeting trends, by gender, July 2009
- Increased budgeting prevalent at all income groups
-
- Figure 13: Year-over-year budgeting trends, by household income, July 2009
- Larger families require more budgeting
-
- Figure 14: Year-over-year budgeting trends, by number of children in household, July 2009
- Hispanic households slightly more likely to tighten the budget
-
- Figure 15: Year-over-year budgeting trends, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2009
- Respondents cite a variety of reasons for tighter budgeting
- A few notable differences between genders
-
- Figure 16: Reasons for budgeting more, by gender, July 2009
- Lifestage strongly influences motivations for budgeting
-
- Figure 17: Reasons for budgeting more, by age, July 2009
- Different budgeting concerns exist across income levels
-
- Figure 18: Reasons for budgeting more, by household income, July 2009
Creating the Budget and Assessing Sales
-
- Key points
- Budget vs. Bargain
- Coupon use on the rise, especially online
- Women lead in most budget-shopping tactics, but men may be gaining
-
- Figure 19: Creating the budget and assessing sales, by gender, July 2009
- Older adults quicker to clip
-
- Figure 20: Creating the budget and assessing sales, by age, July 2009
- Lower income adults budget more, clip less
-
- Figure 21: Creating the budget and assessing sales, by household income, July 2009
Where Consumers Shop
-
- Key points
- Shoppers include more stores in their hunt for value
-
- Figure 22: Average purchase occasions per household, % change vs prior year, 2009
- Women more likely to shop in more outlets
-
- Figure 23: Stores shopped, by gender, July 2009
- Higher income shoppers shop in more stores
-
- Figure 24: Stores shopped, by household income, July 2009
Grocery Store Budgeting Behaviors
-
- Key points
- Supermarkets benefit from home dining, but still face heavy competition
- Developing and promoting private labels
-
- Figure 25: Safeway private label TV spot, 2009
- Editing and optimizing assortment
- Everyday low prices
-
- Figure 26: Safeway Everyday Low Prices TV spot, 2009
- Grocery shoppers utilize a wide array of budget-shopping behaviors
-
- Figure 27: Retail channel budgeting behavior, by gender, July 2009
- Figure 28: Grocery store/supermarket budgeting behavior, by gender, July 2009
- Coupon use higher among older shoppers
-
- Figure 29: Grocery store/supermarket budgeting behavior, by age, July 2009
Walmart Budgeting Behaviors
-
- Key points
- Shopping at Walmart popular across demographic groups
- Walmart’s impact felt across retail industry
- Walmart promises empowerment to budget-conscious consumers
-
- Figure 30: Walmart annual savings TV spot, 2009
- Walmart shoppers look for sales and low prices
-
- Figure 31: Walmart budgeting behavior, by age, July 2009
-
- Figure 32: Walmart budgeting behavior, by household income, July 2009
Mass Merchandiser Budgeting Behaviors
-
- Key points
- Target struggles to strike the right recessionary tone
-
- Figure 33: Target high expectations household products TV spot, 2009
- Figure 34: Target high expectations fall fashions TV spot, 2009
- Kmart gains ground by focusing on the basics
-
- Figure 35: Kmart Back to School Layaway TV spot, 2009
- Mass merchant shoppers focus on sale items
-
- Figure 36: Mass merchandiser budgeting behavior, by gender, July 2009
- Figure 37: Mass merchandiser budgeting behavior, by age, July 2009
-
- Figure 38: Mass merchandiser budgeting behavior, by household income, July 2009
Warehouse Club Budgeting Behaviors
-
- Key points
- Clubs offer blend of budgeting and bargains
- BJ’s wins with hybrid strategy
- Warehouse clubs cater to affluent customers
- Club members go for bulk
-
- Figure 39: Warehouse club budgeting behavior, by household income, July 2009
Higher-end Department Store Budgeting Behaviors
-
- Key points
- Discounting becomes the norm
- Challenges great at the highest end, where need is the new want
- Macy’s
- Nordstrom moves multi-channel
- Higher-end department store shoppers look for sales
-
- Figure 40: Higher-end department store budgeting behavior, by age, July 2009
-
- Figure 41: Higher-end department store budgeting behavior, by household income, July 2009
Value-priced Department Store Budgeting Behaviors
-
- Key points
- Value-priced chains hold their own in tough economy
- Kohl’s gets aggressive
-
- Figure 42: Kohl’s smart shopper TV spot, 2009
- JCPenney stays in the game
- Positioned for an online shopping future
- Shopping sale items dominate behavior in value-priced department stores
-
- Figure 43: Value-priced department store budgeting behavior, by age, July 2009
-
- Figure 44: Value-priced department store budgeting behavior, by household income, July 2009
Discount Store Such as T.J. Maxx, Ross, Marshalls Budgeting Behaviors
-
- Key points
- Discount stores receive a recession-induced boost
-
- Figure 45: T.J. Maxx & Marshalls Intervention TV Spot, 2009
- Both budget and bargain shopping at discount stores
-
- Figure 46: Discount store budgeting behavior, by age, July 2009
-
- Figure 47: Discount store budgeting behavior, by household income, July 2009
Shopping for Clothing
-
- Key points
- Clothing shoppers cutting back and bargain hunting
- Retail sales results point to shoppers trading down
- Women more likely to look for bargains
-
- Figure 48: Clothing shopping budgeting behavior, by gender, July 2009
- Younger adults far more engaged in apparel shopping
-
- Figure 49: Clothing shopping budgeting behavior, by age, July 2009
- Bargain shopping not limited to lower incomes
-
- Figure 50: Clothing shopping budgeting behavior, by household income, July 2009
Shopping for Personal Hygiene
-
- Key points
- Shoppers only slightly less likely to seek out deals on personal hygiene
-
- Figure 51: Personal care/hygiene shopping budgeting behavior, by gender, July 2009
-
- Figure 52: Personal care/hygiene shopping budgeting behavior, by age, July 2009
Private Label
-
- Key points
- Private label use a widespread budget-shopping strategy
- Use most prevalent among young, lower-income consumers
-
- Figure 53: Private label shopping behavior, by age, July 2009
-
- Figure 54: Private label shopping behavior, by household income, July 2009
-
- Figure 55: Private label shopping behavior, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2009
Extra Money
-
- Key points
- Recession putting the squeeze on extra money
- Dining out gets the nod when there’s extra cash
-
- Figure 56: Extra money shopping behavior, by gender, July 2009
-
- Figure 57: Extra money shopping behavior, by age, July 2009
Cluster Analysis
-
- Casual Budgeters
- Budget Enthusiasts
- Crisis Budgeters
- Opportunity
- Cluster characteristics
-
- Figure 58: Budget shopper clusters, July 2009
- Figure 59: Year-over-year budgeting trends, by budget shopper clusters, July 2009
-
- Figure 60: Clothing shopping budgeting behavior, by budget shopper clusters, July 2009
- Figure 61: Personal care/hygiene shopping budgeting behavior, by budget shopper clusters, July 2009
-
- Figure 62: Creating the budget and assessing sales, by budget shopper clusters, July 2009
- Figure 63: Extra money shopping behavior, by budget shopper clusters, July 2009
- Cluster demographics
-
- Figure 64: Budget shopper clusters, by gender, July 2009
- Figure 65: Budget shopper clusters, by age group, July 2009
- Figure 66: Budget shopper clusters, by household income, July 2009
-
- Figure 67: Budget shopper clusters, by race, July 2009
- Figure 68: Budget shopper clusters, by Hispanic origin, July 2009
- Cluster methodology
Custom Consumer Groups
-
- Older males least likely to say they are budgeting more
-
- Figure 69: Year-over-year budgeting trends, by gender and age, July 2009
- Reasons for budgeting vary by gender/age
-
- Figure 70: Reasons for budgeting more, by gender and age, July 2009
- Women over 35 are active money-savers
-
- Figure 71: Creating the budget and assessing sales, by gender and age, July 2009
- Stores shopped vary by gender/age
-
- Figure 72: Stores shopped, by gender, July 2009
Appendix: Other Useful Tables
-
- Discretionary Spending
-
- Figure 73: Extra money shopping behavior, by household income, July 2009
-
- Figure 74: Extra money shopping behavior, by race/Hispanic origin, July 2009
Appendix: Trade Associations
Back to top