Affluent consumers – the people who make more than $100,000 annually – are becoming more price sensitive as they embrace industry disruptors such as artificial intelligence (AI), Amazon, and mobile technology to compare prices. The results of a recent survey on the topic, conducted by technology company First Insight, were announced during the National Retail Federation’s Big Show last week. They reveal that 42 percent of affluent shoppers today frequently shop at discount retailers versus only 27 percent at full-price retailers. Thirty-six percent say their discount shopping has increased.
Twenty-one percent of affluent respondents also reported they were more inclined to visit online discount retailers compared to only 12 percent of overall respondents.
First Insight, whose predictive analytics platform empowers retailers and manufacturers to identify winning new products, queried 1,000 participants in the U.S. on their shopping habits, purchase behavior, and influences driving purchase decisions in December. Here are some of the results.
Affluent shoppers check Amazon before they look anywhere else, but are unwilling to pay for two-day shipping. While 61 percent said their number of Amazon purchases increased in the past year, 80 percent said they won’t pay extra for two-day shipping.
Affluent shoppers are using AI. Forty percent of affluent respondents surveyed own a smart speaker such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home, compared to only 24 percent of overall survey participants. More than half use the speakers’ AI technology to research pricing.
Affluent shoppers are more likely to price compare at full price retailers than discount retailers. More than half of the people surveyed say their need to price compare while physically in a store is increasing. Thirty-nine percent are using their mobile devices to make the comparisons.
TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods are affluent shoppers’ favorite discount retailers.
Price promotions don’t bring affluent shoppers in-store. According to the survey, the two most important factors that would make them want to shop in a physical store versus buying online are
1. being able to see and touch the product and
2. being able to take a product home.
Price promotions and coupon availability were important to only 10 percent of affluent respondents, and only 12 percent said they felt they’d find better prices in-store.
