Nearly Three-Quarters of Retail Customers Consider Deals When Choosing Merchants

As ongoing economic challenges have continued to affect consumer behavior, PYMNTS Intelligence finds that deal-seeking behavior has long since become mainstream.

By the Numbers

PYMNTS Intelligence’s study last year, “Consumer Inflation Sentiment Report: Higher Prices Fuel a Deal-Seeking Competition,” drew from a survey of more than 2,100 U.S. consumers to better understand how inflation and increased prices of consumer goods affect their shopping habits and relationships with retailers.

The results revealed that, among consumers who had purchased a retail product in the previous 30 days, 72% said price and discounts influenced their decision of where to make their most recent purchase.

The Data in Context

Retailers are seeing this deal-seeking behavior influence customer habits. Big Lots, for instance, shared in its earnings call Thursday (March 7) that it will continue its “extreme bargains” campaign into 2024 as it looks to improve sales, expecting bargains to account for three-quarters of all sales.

Younger shoppers are especially likely to seek out deals, additional PYMNTS Intelligence research finds, and retailers are seeing the opportunity to make gains with Gen Z and millennial customers. Off-price retail group The TJX Companies, for instance, said on its most recent earnings call that it is making gains with these generations.

“With new customers, we continue to skew a little younger, which is what we wanted,” CEO, President and Director Ernie Herrman said during the call. “It bodes well for the future. We actually are at the point now where we over-index in the age 18 to 34.”

 Additionally, eBay said in its latest earnings report that amid a 2% year-over-year revenue rise in the fourth quarter, it is seeing its luxury offerings perform well as consumers seek lower-cost ways to buy the items they want.

“One of the unique values of eBay is that we offer great values on the marketplace,” CEO Jamie Iannone said. “So, I think the reason that our refurbished business, for example, is so strong, our luxury business is so strong, is that even in challenging times, people are looking for a value on the marketplace.”