Criteo research: ethical shopping and bulk buying key as careful holiday shoppers face soaring costs

According to a new survey from Criteo, 74% of UK consumers anticipate spending the same or more than they did last year online in the run-up to the holiday season, while 66% expect to match or exceed in-store spend.

Criteo fields consumer surveys every quarter in eight countries including the UK, France, Germany, US, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and India. The aforementioned insights come from the UK results involving 2,381 Brits in Q3 2023 and compared with the results from 2,311 in Q3 2022.  

Against the tide of rising prices, smart purchasing strategies are enabling people to maintain or increase their spend in more discretionary categories, like health and beauty (71%), consumer electronics (60%), apparel (59%) and home furnishings (57%). 

Consumers are feeling the pinch around essentials in particular. 69% say they have spent more on energy bills and 61% say they have spent more on groceries in recent months.  

To help ease the cost of living: 68% are buying products such as detergent and tissues in larger packs to get greater value for money; a further 43% are willing to buy more items together to get free shipping or to save on shipping costs; 68% of shoppers express loyalty points will be another important influence over where they shop.

Despite this, 79% are prepared to purchase from online stores that they don’t usually purchase from during the rest of the year. Moreover, 61% report frequently trying new brands and retailers. 

Nicole Kivel, Managing Director, Northern Europe at Criteo. comments, “Today’s shopper can be both loyal and agnostic. On the one hand, retailers and brands should be doubling down on their loyalty programmes, both to drive purchases and also for the monetisation potential of that data.”

“But it’s not enough to focus on pushing through sales, you have to make sure the brand is being seen and is drawing in new audiences. Consumers are making tricky compromises and spending time weighing up products and brands from all aspects. While there are risks, there’s also so much opportunity in this environment.” 

Two-thirds of consumers are being more selective in what they buy or are shopping at more quality orientated stores.

To this end, 76% state reviews are an important part of their purchase decision. In fact, shopper diligence is leading to more questions being asked of larger marketplaces; 56% of respondents now suspect some of the products they see on Amazon are counterfeit. 

While received wisdom dictates brand building and starts with having a great product – nine in ten consumers still describe product quality as important – there are several other elements that inform the price consumers are prepared to pay, and in some cases surpass.  

For instance, 56% of consumers would pay at least 5% extra for apparel, footwear or accessories that are proven to be ethically produced.  

Similarly, 54% would pay extra for carbon-neutral delivery. Another important consideration is whether the product is recyclable, which 73% of consumers stress is important in their purchase decision.