Australian consumers are the world’s biggest bargain hunters, according to a study by BuzzBack Market Research for NCR Corporation, with 69 per cent of Australian respondents switching retailers or banks to get the best deals, better prices or more loyalty rewards – the highest of all countries surveyed. 
 
While price is important to Aussies, the vast number of respondents (87 per cent) said they would stay loyal to a brand if it gives them more personalised interaction and control.
 
“NCR’s survey shows that while the global financial crisis has made consumers keener to shop around for a better deal, they still value individual, personalised service across all channels,” said Ross Checkley, managing director for NCR Corporation in the South Pacific.
 
“Australians are increasingly expecting service choice – to have their preferences understood by companies and to be able to decide where and how they interact with them.”
 
The desire for personalised service was reflected in the finding that 62 per cent of Australians appreciated not being sent irrelevant information by brands, while 65 per cent said that all of the information they needed was available across all channels.
 
“Last year we saw that Australians were looking not only for flexibility on price, but in the way they paid for their products. This year, the emphasis on cost and self-service convenience remains, but consumers also expect companies to have an understanding of their individual tastes across all channels,” said Checkley.