In the last two years, the group of Polish consumers guided by shopping behaviors, mainly promotions, has significantly decreased. Currently, the most numerous consumer segment is passive. For them, the promotion is not a sufficient reason to buy – shows the “Promotion Monitor 2019” ARC Market and Opinion.
Just 2 years ago, hunters of promotions constituted the largest group of consumers (31%), while the passive – the least numerous. This year’s survey shows a big change.
Now there is the most passive, and promotion hunters almost as many as minimalists. (Source: ‘Promotion Monitor 2019’, ARC Market and Opinion, August 2019.)
What are the characteristics of individual Polish consumer segments?
Passives
Passives are people who occasionally take advantage of a promotion, but rather do not buy something just because of it. They feel anxious about buying a product or service offered in promotions because they are afraid that they will buy a pig in a poke. They want to have the purchasing process behind them as soon as possible.
It is rather a waste of time for them to compare prices, offers and promotions. Most often they do not know the prices of products and services they currently use. In this group there are relatively more men and people from the youngest age groups – up to 34 years of age.
Rational people
Rational people are eager to take advantage of promotions where you can buy more products for less (eg shopping in a package, a larger amount of a product / service for the same price, and the classic – price reduction).
They have their favorite brands. They are happy to spend time comparing offers in different places and know exactly the prices of the products or services they buy. Buying their favorite product or service in a promotion gives them a lot of satisfaction.
They have no fear of buying a pig in a poke. They also try to choose products currently on promotion. There are more women in this group, people over 45 and residents of the largest cities.
Promotion hunters
Promotion hunters are another group that is eager to use various types of promotions. They are also the greatest enthusiasts of competitions. They are happy to take part in lotteries.
Taking advantage of a promotion gives them a lot of satisfaction. They often buy on impulse and shop larger than they planned. Most of them are women and people aged over 45, as well as inhabitants of medium-sized cities (100,000–200,000).
Minimalists
Minimalists use promotions, occasionally. They reach for their favorite brands regardless of the promotion. In comparison with the passive segment, minimalists usually get familiar with competitive offers before they buy.
They don’t waste time comparing products and offers. They often want to have shopping behind them. They also do not know the exact prices of products and services. They firmly stick to the principle that if they didn’t plan to buy something, they don’t buy it.
This year’s survey confirms the trend that has been visible for several years: the most popular form of promotion is “reduction in product or service prices”.
Among the promotions that have seen a minimal drop in popularity this year are “a greater number of products / services for the same price” and “distributing or attaching samples to other products”.
Compared to previous years, there is a noticeable drop in the use of almost all promotions by a few percent. An increase in use can only be seen in the promotion of “price reduction” (1 pp) and “lotteries” (4 pp).
– Among Polish consumers there is a clear rearrangement and even, one can risk the statement – boredom with promotions, at least in the form in which they have been functioning for years.
The significant decrease in the percentage of people who are hunters of promotions clearly shows this. This, of course, does not herald the end of the promotion era. Rather, it indicates the need for change, proposing something new and fresh.
Even at a time when consumption is increasingly talked about, sharing economy and the growing trend of renting things, consumers can still be encouraged to buy. The question is how to make them feel encouraged and strengthened in the desire to have a given product or service.
Consumers are increasingly aware of what marketing activities are being applied to them. They are no longer as naive in their behavior as they were several years ago. Therefore, to be effective, marketers must take into account a number of aspects that they did not have to think about before.
Krzysztof Szczerbacz, head of the research team at ARC Market and Opinion
About the study
The “Monitor promotion 2019” survey was carried out by ARC Rynek i Opinion using the CAWI technique (online surveys at ePanel.pl). Sample: N = 1034 city dwellers who have benefited from at least one type of promotion over the past year. The deadline for the survey was August 2019.
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