Consumer festive spending plans with Ipsos MORI

In the run up to the festive period of 2020, Elavon commissioned an online survey of 1,121 adults in the UK about the nation’s spending plans and the reasons behind them.

In a nutshell: some 48% of UK adults plan to spend the same or more this festive season compared to the last one. And 82% are planning to shop in-store, with almost a third of those (31%) doing so to support their local economy.

And there’s even more of interest within the details…

“Whether they are online orwhether they are in a face-to-face environment, that means offering demonstrable value for money as shoppers raise their expectations of the consumer experience," Simon goes on to explain.

“That could mean actively demonstrating your health and safety and local credentials in a face to face environment, or supporting a smooth delivery and returns process if selling online. Consumers have more choice than ever before, and can easily and actively seek out those who are best meeting their expectations.”

Shopping: face to face or ‘clickety click’?

National and localised pandemic restrictions have changed the face of shopping this year – quite literally: masks are compulsory, shops have had to adjust to support social distancing, and many have taken their wares from the high street to online.

So – irrespective of whether shops are open or not at the time of our survey – we wanted to explore the biggest drivers when it comes to using a physical shop or an online one, assuming both were equally available.

Perhaps linked to that, being able to better assess the quality of items was the second strongest driver (33%). Supporting the local economy was a motivation for almost a third (31%).
Notably among the others, around one in ten (12%) were keen on the social side of shopping or shopping with others.

Longer opening hours would encourage more than a quarter of respondents (27%), with almost one in four (24%) encouraged by so-called ‘quiet hours’ for those shielding – where access is limited to those of, say, a certain age or profession, such as key workers.

Social distancing features – including approaches that make visits in-store quicker – are among the trends too, with almost a quarter (23%) saying they’d be encouraged by a ‘scan and go’ (no-till shopping) approach.

 In addition, about a fifth (21%) said that they’d welcome the ability to order something to collect at the shop. Both of these options represent methods that could reduce contact with others and time spent in store.

Almost a third (30%) said enforcing health and safety, such as wearing a mask, would encourage them. Not far behind in encouragement stakes was providing hand sanitiser around the store (27%).

Reducing contact with others or time spent with others seemed important too. Almost a quarter (24%) welcome the option to order something to collect in-store – assumedly at a time convenient to them, and meaning their in-store experience was shorter and more controlled.

‘Quiet hours’ would encourage just over a fifth (21%) of respondents to use a store, with just under a fifth (19%) welcoming the option to check availability before going to the store.

“It’s illuminating to see what could motivate a change in attitude and intention among those who don’t plan to visit a physical store over the festive period,” says Simon.

“Potential customers are saying loudly and clearly what they want – to be safe while shopping, and to feel safe while shopping in these pandemic times. Adjustments that reduce exposure to crowds and potential risk points, such as contact with staff and other shoppers, seems to be resonating. Payments is a big part of this and was also evidenced in our previous study on payment preferences as the first national lockdown restrictions lifted.

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More than a quarter are motivated by same day delivery (28%) and a wider range of delivery slots (27%).

Customer attitude was encouraged too by more detailed descriptions (23%) and more detailed images (21%) including zoom options or the ability to fully rotate or turn a product – replicating the ability to assess items in detail, which were the biggest drivers for those shopping in-store.

“The key findings here speak in some ways to taking the face to face experience of a shop to your online store,” says Simon.

“Those buying from a physical shop can usually inspect, assess quality and value for money, and take it straight home with them. If there’s an issue – taking it back to the store is the traditional experience. It’s crucial to replicate that fuss-free ability to get items reliably delivered, return them if there’s an issue without additional cost and inconvenience, and inspect them closely for suitability.”

Summary

• 4 out of 5 of adults (82%) are undeterred to use face to face shops.
• Almost half (47%) planning to spend the same or more this festive season compared to last.
• The age group most likely to increase spending over the festivities is the youngest with more than a quarter (26%) of 16-24 year olds planning to increase their spending.
• A big driver for face to face shopping at any time is the ease of making choices in person, with supporting the local economy being the third most important driver in the UK (31%).
• The biggest drivers for face to face shopping in these times are demonstrable health and safety.
• For online shopping – the biggest drivers are reliable delivery, returns and things that replicate the face to face experience in an online environment – descriptions/imagery that make it easier to make choices, better assess quality and value for money.

We conducted this same survey in other countries too, which may interest you:

We asked these same questions to 1000 adults in Ireland and 1092 adults in Poland. The research was conducted on i:omnibus, Ipsos MORI’s online Omnibus.

• Online interviews were carried out amongst adults aged 16-75 in the UK.
• Our respondents base includes 1,211 adults who completed the survey 6-10th November 2020.
• The sample obtained is representative of the population with quotas on: age, gender, region and working status.
• The data has been weighted to the known population profile by age, gender, region, working status and social grade to be nationally representative and reflect the adult population of the UK.