Shoppers spend time to save money

Consumers have decided that discounts are worth the time spent seeking them. Eighty percent spend up to three hours per week looking for coupons, deals and savings from all sources, and 81% said they saved up to $50 each week, or $2,600 per year.

Consumers have decided that discounts are worth the time spent seeking them. Eighty percent spend up to three hours per week looking for coupons, deals and savings from all sources, and 81% said they saved up to $50 each week, or $2,600 per year.

A large majority (82%) also said they used their coupon savings to buy necessities or pay down debt, according to the 2010 RedPlum Purse String Study, which drew more than 16,000 respondents when fielded between July 21 and August 15. These figures reveal the extent to which consumers favor fiscal conservatism today: no mad money or splurge funds.

“This new frugality is driven by the economy that is leading to shopping behaviors that will remain long after the economy improves,” says Lisa Reynolds, RedPlum’s Mom Saver-in-Chief. “Yesterday’s occasional saver has become today’s deal-seeker who is instilling these trends in the next generation of value seekers.”

The survey also uncovers a consumer pride in coupon use to show off spending savvy.  No longer discreet, people show them openly. More than three out of four would even use a coupon on a first date at a restaurant or movie theatre. If savings are a way to show sensibility and help shape romance in these settings, imagine their power in supermarkets, where people always seem to want to pay less.

Knowing this sentiment, The Lempert Report asks what more could food stores do to capitalize on this emotion.  First, understand that coupon booklets, mail-delivered promotions and retail fliers are consumers’ most coveted means to save, according to the RedPlum survey. Second, recognize that shoppers also go to online sites, plus Facebook, Twitter and blogs to secure deals. Third, know that the savings people accrue serve to reinforce these newer behaviors, and encourage strategy-sharing discussions, particularly among women.

There’s little retailers can gain by being tricky with their savings offers: consumers are just too knowledgeable, and have many places to do checks and balances. Use direct, open messaging that begins in the media, on the Web and in coupon vehicles – and carry those messages through to shelf to build consistency and credibility.

In this economy, you might even be saving your traffic while saving your customers some much-needed dough.