Media Release
November 9, 2009
Shoppers continue to make additional impulse purchases
despite economy
Despite the reported tightening of consumer spending, the large majority of
Australian shoppers will buy an average 8.9 additional grocery items than planned
each time they walk into their shopping centre, new research has found.
This level of impulse buying is despite the fact that the large majority of shoppers
will prepare a grocery list to help them better manage their expenditure as a result
of the economic downturn.
This is according to the results of the second How we Really Shop research -
commissioned by out-of-home media specialists oOh!media - to gain new insights
into shopping behaviour and habits.
Kelly McIlwraith, General Manager Strategy of oOh!media, said while it was not
surprising that shoppers made impulse buys, the extent of their impulse
purchases was larger than expected.
“This is the first time we have been able to get a clear picture of the level of
impulse buying and what it shows is that on average, shoppers include 8.9
additional items in their shopping basket that were not on their original shopping
list.”
“While it is well known that impulse buying is part of shopping behaviour, we were
surprised to see that 8.9 extra items were in the grocery trolley despite a recent
report indicating people were avoiding impulse buying due to the economy.”
“This suggests that during a more buoyant economy, the number of discretionary
grocery items purchased could be much greater.”
“It also shows that consumers are still deciding what to buy when they enter a
shopping centre, so for brands that haven’t been included on the shopping list, the
opportunity to be purchased still exists through impulse buys.”
The research also revealed that more than three in four of the estimated 1.9
billion visitors to shopping centres in the past year used credit cards or EFTPOS
for their grocery purchases, rather than cash.
oOh!’s second installment of the How we Really Shop research, which was
undertaken by The Seed and based on qualitative studies and quantitative
surveys also found:
Purchasing Decisions
o
64% of shoppers usually or always take a shopping list
o
58% of this group usually or always purchase items that are not on their
list
o
Of the 29% of shoppers who always take a shopping list, over half this
group (52%) will always purchase items that are not on their list
For Images click
here
Financial Institution and bank specific research
o
EFTPOS (38%) is the most commonly used payment method for grocery
purchases, followed by credit cards (35%) and cash (26%)
o
27% sometimes/most times visit a bank branch when in their local
shopping centre
o
Consumers have an average of two financial accounts
o
75% have accounts with at least one of the top four major institutions
o
95% have accounts outside of these top four providers
The results differed slightly for teenagers, with those surveyed having a higher
reliance on EFTPOS to make purchases, and were more likely to visit a bank
branch while at their local shopping centre.
Financial Institution and bank specific research for teens
o
49% of teenagers purchase groceries using EFTPOS, with 44% preferring
to pay with cash and only 7% will use a credit card
o
33% of teens will sometimes/most times visit a bank branch when in their
local shopping centre
o
Teens have an average of 1.2 financial accounts
o
77% of teens have accounts with at least one of the top four major
institutions
o
45% of teens have accounts outside of these top four providers
oOh!, the market leader in out-of-home retail media, has invested more than $35
million to make out-of-home retail advertising available in more than 300 shopping
centres throughout Australia.
-
ends -
For more information:
Alicia Aldini/Peter Laidlaw
Lighthouse Communications Group
+61 (0)2 9692 8811
aaldini@lighthousecomms.com.au
About oOh!media Group Ltd: oOh!media is the only single focused out-of-home
advertising company listed on the ASX. The Company specialises in the management and
ownership of outdoor assets throughout urban and regional Australia. oOh!media is
Australia’s largest outdoor media brokerage group.
NEWS 
