Study Says Recession's Changed Shopper Behavior

New York, NY, March 9m 2010--Retailers and suppliers will need to adapt to consumers' new shopping behaviors to succeed in today's evolved marketplace and during the post-recession recovery, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Retail Forward.

Shoppers will be more deliberate and purposeful in their spending, as conspicuous consumption will give way to more conscious or practical consumerism.

Rampant deal-seeking will be replaced by more purchase selectivity and the use of shopping techniques and tools discovered during the recession. Additionally, the affluent segment of Generation X and the young Generation Y will lead spending in the recovery.

"The recession has tempered the rampant and excessive consumption, giving way to more mindful choices as shoppers increasingly seek out online and mobile coupons, comparison shopping sites, and loyalty and rewards programs," said Lisa Feigen Dugal, PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. retail and consumer practice leader.

"As consumers become more invested with using these tools in their shopping experience, retailers will need to adapt their strategies to appeal to this new generation of consumers."

According to the report, retailers need to make promotion and savings-related information more easily accessible across all shopper touch points.

The report emphasizes that although shoppers will retain some of their recession-induced behaviors, the post-recession shopper will be characterized as purposeful, rather than panicked.

As shoppers' "wants" are steadily reintroduced into the equation, trading-down behavior related to the choice of retailer, product, or brand will lose some traction in the recovery. However, private label brands will remain a significant factor due to their increasingly higher quality and low cost since retailers don't have to advertise or promote them to the same degree as national brands.

One-fifth of consumers will continue to forgo buying items that seem too expensive.

The emergence of a more thoughtful approach to spending on luxury and non-discretionary goods means shoppers will place a premium on goods that have qualities of timeliness, usefulness, and versatility.

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