The popularity of budget or fixed price retailers is underlined in a recent YouGov report that reveals that over eight in ten (81%) of consumers have shopped in such stores in the last six months.
Furthermore, almost six in ten (58%) say they shop at discount retailers such as Wilkinson, Poundland or 99p stores every month and a third (31%) say they do so every week. Women (33%) and those aged 40-54 (36%) use budget retailers the most.
In England, consumers in the North have a greater tendency to shop in discount stores compared with those living in the South. Only 20% of consumers in the South shop in such stores once a week, while 41% of Northerners do so.
Why so popular?
When assessing the most appealing elements of discount stores, half (50%) of respondents believe them to have the best prices, while 47% think such stores are ‘always worth a visit to see what’s new’. A further (40%) say they have a wide range of goods, while a quarter (25%) say they can rely on the stores to be cheapest on everyday staple products.
However, among the 19% of those that ‘never shop at a fixed price retailer’, there is a belief that the price is low but the quality of goods is poor (31%).
Over half of shoppers (53%) don’t expect to see promotions in store but want everyday low pricing. The most sought after improvement is faster checkout service, with one in four saying they want more checkouts at busy times.
Retailers and spending habits
Wilkinson is the market leader with sales of £1-529m in the last financial year. However, Poundland is the most frequently visited by respondents; almost half (49%) have visited Poundland in the last six months compared to 44% who purchased items at Wilkinson.
Consumers who had shopped in a discount / budget shop in the previous week spent an average of £12.48 per customer, but over half (53%) spent under £10. The most popular goods bought are confectionary/ bagged snacks (46%), health and beauty (42%), housewares (38%) and packaged groceries (37%).
The report suggests that online purchases are a long way behind the rate of those in-store. 86% of consumers have never bought from a discount store online, although the average spend per customer online is higher than in store, £15.83 compared to £12.68. Wilkinson has the highest reach online among those polled (7%).
