Australian shoppers, particularly in the younger generations, are becoming savvier around making their money go further, but treat themselves to spending sprees and impulse buys during sales periods, according to the latest PayPal EOFY Sales Trends Report 2021.
Almost two-thirds (61%) of Gen Z shoppers and more than half (55%) of Millennials say they have waited until an item went on sale before making a purchase online. Millennials are also the most likely to have bought an item at full price, returned it and purchased it at a lower price when it went on sale.
But it’s not just the young who love a bargain with 50% of Australian consumers admitting that they ‘hate buying at full price’. While shopping in-store, two in five Australians (40%) admit they have researched online prices on their phones to ensure they are getting the best deal for their money.
PayPal consumer shopping expert, Jessica Rix said everyone loves getting a good deal, and it’s great to see how Millennials are becoming increasingly savvy in scouting out discounts when they shop.
“As the sales cycle gets busier than before, we’re seeing more Millennial shoppers looking for deals to make their dollars go further. On the flipside, this means they can be reluctant to spend outside of sales season – we found over one quarter (27%) say they only shop when items are on sale or discounted with only one-in-ten (10%) saying they don’t care whether items are on sale or not,” she said.
One-in-five millennials (21%) confessed to sales FOMO, saying they felt like they are “losing money” if they don’t buy an item they want on sale. About the same number – 19% – admit to being “addicted” to shopping the sales.
Millennials also stand out as the country’s biggest impulse buyers with the average Millennial shopper ringing up 3.4 unplanned items at a cost of $197 in the last three months, which is about 60% more purchases and $87 more than the average Australian shopper (2.1 items at a cost of $110 national average).
However,younger shoppers are more likely to experience sales-driven buyer’s remorse with more than one-third (34%) of millennial shoppers admitting to feeling regret after making a sales-driven purchase. Additionally, almost two-in-five millennials (37%) reported they had bought an item they didn’t need because it was on sale.
While slightly more Australians still shop sales in-store (55%), the scales are shifting with the majority saying they prefer to shop sales online (51%). This preference to shop online is significantly higher for younger shoppers, with Millennials leading the charge (70%).
Over one third of Australians say it is faster and more convenient to shop sale events online (39%), there is more product choice (37%), and they get better deals (36%).