Even as inflation settles, consumers continue to lock into behavioral adjustments that will help them save.
According to the 14th edition of the EY Future Consumer Index (FCI), which includes a global survey of 23,000 consumers across 30 countries (1,500 consumers in the U.S.), American consumers are optimistic about the months ahead. In fact, 77 percent of U.S. consumers told the company that they believe their lives are the same or better now than three to four months ago. However, even with this mindset, respondents admitted they would not be easing up on searching for deals.
The act of saving, said the authors of EY’s report, “has become an ingrained consumer behavior across demographics, with shoppers turning to loyalty programs, private labels and discounts to cut costs on items they want and need.”
“Sales have gone from specific moments in time, like Black Friday and back-to-school, to consistent opportunities for deals—and strong loyalty programs elevate that culture of consistent savings even further,” said Kathy Gramling, industry leader at EY Americas. “At the same time, loyalty programs provide brands and retailers with invaluable consumer data to better inform products, programs and personalized experiences. Winning brands are those that use the data found in loyalty programs to not only attract new customers but also retain and reward existing ones.”
While in the past, EY’s experts said that many consumers have passed on brand loyalty in favor of savings, almost half of U.S. consumers said they will download a brand’s app to receive loyalty promotions or exclusive deals, making these programs more important than ever and elevating the connection between brand loyalty and savings. Seventy percent of U.S. consumers also said they would join a company’s loyalty program for free shipping and 45 percent of respondents said they have used a discount code or voucher while online shopping in the last six months.
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At the same time, U.S. consumers are showing increased interest in in-store shopping. When prompted, consumers cited the main drivers of this shifting behavior as the desire to see, touch and try items before making a purchase (59 percent) and wanting to avoid shopping (57 percent).
Consumers told the company that they have increasingly been giving more value to human interactions during their purchase journeys. Fifty-six percent of U.S. consumers said that “interacting with humans to be extremely important during product returns and refunds” and 55 percent said it is “extremely important when looking to discuss questions or concerns about a product they already bought.”
Importantly, while U.S. consumers are continuing to shop online, EY’s report found that shoppers are looking to feel a deeper sense of security when shopping online “especially with feelings of distrust rising to the top of consumer agendas.” According to the survey, 63 percent of U.S. consumers are extremely concerned about online ID fraud and theft and 60 percent said they have extreme fear when it comes to data breaches.
Isaac Krakovsky, retail leader at EY Americas, said the company is seeing “an ongoing juxtaposition between the data consumers are now willing to share online and their concern around data privacy and security. “This divide becomes even more evident when there are incentives and deals in play. For brands, this means security and communication around security is a must-have in driving long-term trust.”
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