Australian shoppers are approaching the 2013 Christmas and holiday season with cautious yet confident shopping intentions. Many are displaying a prudent approach to getting the best value for money by using digital channels as their guide. Responses from the Australia-wide Effective Measure Australia survey, which covers shopping intent and behaviour, suggests emerging multi-platform options for purchasing are empowering consumers. This is because research is allowing them to make informe
ed decisions on transactions, whether online or in traditional retail stores.
A strong shift towards seeking all available information on pricing and choice indicates very high maturity with digital channels.
Overall, consumer spending intentions suggest that Australians are taking a wise approach to getting what they want, when they want it, at the right price.
As a result, they are resisting the urge to overspend and be concerned with high credit card bills in the new year.
A summary of the survey details shows that:
Consumers are more confident and therefore more likely to spend.
The majority of purchase information is gathered through digital technologies and mobile devices, which now lead the way as the key means to gather information.
Digital shopping is about price comparison, and price comparison sites are the chief gateway for shoppers to find deals.
Men are more ruthless about price checking online than women.
Price is not the sole thing that defines a customers shopping intention. Loyalty programs and gift incentives still make the customer feel appreciated.
Overseas online shopping is now part of the Christmas spending agenda and the budget is above $200.
The leading overseas online shopper market in Australia is the ACT.
This report is an extract of Effective Measure’s Australia Shopping Intentions Report. Click here to download the full report.
