Consumers are becoming more prudent as the recession kicks in, according to new research. Nine out of every 10 UK households has become more prudent in what it buys and when and where it buys it since the recession began, according to a new study.

Consumers are making things go further, being more careful about avoiding waste and avoiding shops known to be more expensive or upmarket. But the biggest change is in the use of new media, with 38 per cent of shoppers sourcing vouchers from the Internet, and 78 per cent of these admitting that this is a change in their behaviour from 12 months ago.

The research, by researchers Shoppercentric, found that 90 per cent of UK households are undertaking more prudent buying strategies to cope with the recession, up 4 percentage points since January 2009.

Danielle Pinnington, managing director at Shoppercentric, says there are some hopeful signs – for example, the number of shoppers who said they believe they will not be affected by the recession has increased by 2 percentage points to 6 per cent. She adds: “This may seem a rather small shift, but extrapolated to the UK main grocery shoppers, this equates to over half a million shoppers feeling more confident than in January.”

Pinnington warns, however: “For each shopper who is feeling more confident, there is a shopper who is feeling the pain.”

The research found that consumers are adopting four different shopping strategies:

• Being prudent: 90 per cent are saving by avoiding waste, planning, making more from scratch etc.
• Economising: 88 per cent are buying more own-label products, are more aware of pricing and promotions and are buying smaller packs to save money.
• Avoidance tactics: 88 per cent are not giving into temptation and are ignoring the more expensive shops.
• Active shopping: 83 per cent use shops they’ve not been to before, are using local shops to save petrol, are checking pricing online and are going where the best deals exist.

They are also reacting differently to different promotions.

• 79 per cent are reacting to ‘Buy one get one free’ offers, the most popular promotion-type.
• 69 per cent are looking for ‘money off single items.’
• 53 per cent want ‘3 for 2’ offers.
• 47 per cent are using vouchers and coupons.
• 36 per cent look for 2 for £x offers.
• 21 per cent seek out groups of products e.g. dine in for £10 and meal deals.
• 11 per cent are attracted to offers which include free gifts, competitions and collectables.
• 8 per cent said that were not attracted to any promotions.

The research found the most popular voucher were those from a loyalty card mailshot or instore terminal (53 per cent). Of the consumers who said they use vouchers from this source, 58 per cent are using them more than they did last year. In second place was a voucher from a product pack with 35 per cent, up 61 percent on last year.

Pinnington observes: “Based on the findings, I’d recommend the grocery market should not overload the shopper with too many promotions because it causes confusion and brand equity can be eroded.”