Reuters Blogs

Shop Talk

Retailers, consumers and prices

October 7th, 2008

Women plan to spend less at department stores, mass merchants

Posted by: Nicole Maestri

shop.jpgLast month, in a poll conducted by SheSpeaks, a women’s insights marketing firm, almost 50 percent of respondents said they would spend less this holiday. That was up from nearly 30 percent who answered the same way last year.

In a new poll, SheSpeaks asks where shoppers intend to spend fewer dollars. Here are the results from the updated poll:

If you are planning to curb your spending, where will you be spending less money? 
1 - Department Store (37.64%) 
2 - Mass Merchandiser (Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target)   (23.62%) 
3 - Big Box Retailer (Home Depot, Staples, Toys R Us, etc.) (16.85%) 
4 - Grocery Store  (11.50%) 
5 - Club Store (Costco, Sam’s, etc.)  (3.94%) 
6 - Discount Store (TJ Maxx, Filene’s, etc.) (4.41%) 
7 - Drug Store  (2.05%) 

Aliza Freud, founder of SheSpeaks, said she was surprised by the high percent of respondents who said they would cut their spending at mass merchants like Wal-Mart and Target. Wal-Mart’s results have been outpacing rivals in recent months as consumers seek out its low prices.

But Freud said: “People are feeling like they’re not getting the deals that they really expected to get there.” She said one reason for this feeling may be the lack of coupons that these retailers distribute. Instead of relying on a retailers’ promise that they offer low prices, Freud said respondents indicated that they prefer shopping with coupons these days to feel as if they are getting the lowest prices possible.

“We think coupons are a huge opportunity right now for retailers,” Freud said.

(Photo: Reuters)

June 12th, 2008

Coupon Web sites attracting more visits

Posted by: Erin Zureick

grocery-line.jpgAs consumer prices rise and the economy founders, Web surfers are scouring cyberspace for deals.

A new study released this week by market research firm Hitwise showed that online coupon clipping is on the rise.

Hitwise told Reuters that U.S. visits to certain custom coupon Web sites increased 66 percent from May 2007 to May of this year.

Heather Dougherty, research director at Hitwise, said shoppers are trying to cope with cost of living increases.

“While discretionary income is shrinking for some households, consumers are still shopping online, but making sure they find the best deals,” she said in a statement.

Coupons.com led the pack within the category, grabbing 29 percent of the market and chalking up a 190 percent increase since last year.  Coupon Mountain and Eversave rounded out the top three with 14 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

When Hitwise measured traffic from the week ending June 6, they found that search engines directed 20 percent of penny-pinching shoppers to coupon sites. Of the top search terms, 60 percent included a reference to a specific brand or branded product.

Monthly visits to comparison shopping Web sites also increased 60 percent from May 2007 to May of this year, Hitwise spokesman Matt Tatham said.

Looking for a bargain? Here are some other coupon sites:

April 3rd, 2008

Driving far for deals despite high gas prices

Posted by: Fred Katayama

Fred Katayama visits a Wal-mart just outside New York City to see how consumers socked with high gas prices and a sputtering economy are changing the way they shop. His full report hits the reuters.com website on Friday. It’s part of a Reuters multimedia presentation in text, video and pictures.