Our latest shopper report report Shopping Uncovered reveals whether shoppers really believe there is ‘always a sale’ in UK retail.

It’s a common perception that ‘you never have to pay full price these days, there’s always a sale’.  But how true is this? Do shoppers really expect to never pay full price? Are Boomers more sale savvy than Millennials? Does what they buy influence this perception?

Shopping Uncovered – How we really shop today – tackles these questions and looks at shopping in two detailed ways – from a category and generational perspective.

The study of more than a thousand home and leisure shoppers found that 60% agreed that “There always seems to be a sale on or a special offer promotion, you rarely have to pay full price”.

And it varies little by generation

However, when we looked at what people buy and how their perception changes by category it tells a whole different story.

The DFS-effect – retailers that seem to have a permanent sale – is a message delivered loud and clear to shoppers. Furniture is by far deemed the category most likely to offer a promotion with three quarters of respondents rarely expecting to pay full price. Travel falls closely behind as 65% expect sale prices when buying flights and hotels or amusement park tickets.

Conversely, shoppers buying entertainment goods – from music, film and theatre tickets to eating out – don’t expect a bargain. Nearly 60% anticipate that they will have to pay full price.

Shopping Uncovered – How we really shop today

Our insight to shopper expectation of sales and promotions is just one of the areas featured in Shopping Uncovered.

As our most in-depth report to date, it looks at attitudes to shopping across home and leisure from how and where we shop to the forces that drive our buying decisions.

Our findings provide new and valuable insight to help marketers create more effective marketing strategies.

If you’re interested in reading the report in full, you can register to receive a free copy here

Sue Benson, Managing Director