Prices are on the rise, economic uncertainty is in the air and cautious shoppers are vowing to rein in their spending in the new year.
But that doesn’t mean we still can’t be tempted by a good deal.
Vericast has released results from a new survey, in which it found that consumers are cautious, but not drastically so; they’re watching their spending, but they’re not above treating themselves if the price is right. In short, Vericast found, “2022 is less about restrictive resolutions and more about a resolve to spark joy.”
65% of survey respondents say they plan to prioritize managing expenses this year, while 40% want to put more into savings. “With expenses on the rise, they know they have to manage their money carefully,” Vericast noted, “but they don’t want to give up experiences that delight.”
And that’s where coupons and deals come in.
52% of consumers said a sale could prompt them to make an impulse purchase. Coupons could also give cautious shoppers “room to break the rules,” but they don’t want to have to go searching for them. Nearly two-thirds want advertisers to make coupons and discounts easier to find. They also want coupons that are easier to redeem – 42% said they like ads with QR codes that can be scanned to access coupons and discounts.
So Vericast advises advertisers to make their deals more enticing, and more frequent. Half of all shoppers said they want to hear from their favorite stores at least once a week with information about sales and deals. More than a third of shoppers said they’re more likely to do business with companies that reward their loyalty with personalized offers and discounts, while about the same say they’re more inclined to shop with businesses that make them feel like valued customers.
In an earlier survey conducted by the online deals forum Slickdeals, 76% of respondents said they had made a new year’s resolution to be smarter with their finances. And many had increased the number of coupons they used over the past year. But nearly two-thirds said they are in better financial shape now than they were a year ago.
So that supports Vericast’s findings that shoppers may be frugal, but they’re not depriving themselves. “The next year might not be total free-wheeling frivolity, but that doesn’t mean shoppers don’t want to feel good,” Vericast noted. But feeling good also means feeling “savvy when they part with their cash.”
After two years of a pandemic and economic anxiety, most survey respondents are generally optimistic about the year ahead. When asked to describe their expectations for 2022, two thirds used positive terms like “good,” “interesting,” “fun” and “hope.” While “reality insists they are cautious with their spending,” Vericast concluded, “consumers are shopping for positivity in 2022.”
And if that positivity can be purchased with a coupon – even better.
Image source: Ivan Radic 
