There’s no denying that Americans have high standards when it comes to the level of service they expect from retailers and other businesses. However, in the wake of the economic crisis and tightening consumer budgets, weekly data from Simmons DataStream suggest that Americans are breaking out of their comfort zone by lowering their service expectations and even exploring new stores that lure them in with coupons.
Consumers have shown an increasing willingness to shop at new stores if they get a coupon.
Examining data between January 7, 2008 and September 6, 2010, Simmons DataStream reveals that U.S. adults are 7% less likely today than they were at the beginning of 2008 to claim they shop only at their favorite stores because they know what kind of service they will receive. Specifically, as of September 6, 2010, 46% of adults said they chose stores for service compared with 49% who said the same on January 7, 2008.
During this same time frame, consumers have shown an increasing willingness to shop at new stores if they get a coupon. In fact, on September 6, 2010, fully 30% of adults said they are drawn to a store they don’t normally shop because of a coupon. That represents a relative increase of 18% since January 7, 2008, when 26% of consumers said they were enticed by coupons.
For more information on Simmons DataStream weekly reporting of nearly 40,000 consumer variables, visit our website.