Half of Irish shoppers happy to spend local, report suggests

Irish shoppers are increasingly using their spending power to support social solidarity with 50 per cent saying they are happy to spend on products once they are sourced locally, a new report suggests.

According to Deloitte’s latest State of the Consumer Tracker the rise of the socially-conscious shopper is continuing with the numbers prepared to spend more climbing by 6 per cent while 40 per cent say they now buy more from brands which have responded well to the Covid-19 crisis.

The tracker shows a slight increase in people’s concern for their own physical wellbeing which stands at 53 per cent up 1 per cent on the last raft of research from the company published a month ago.

Meanwhile concern for the health of family members also increased by 2 per cent to 65 per cent.

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Concerns over the prospect of job loss has decreased by 2 per cent to 36 per cent although concern about returning to an actual workplace has climbed by 2 per cent to 36 per cent.

Deloitte’s tracker is a monthly survey following Irish consumers’ attitudes towards personal wellbeing, financial concerns, travel and hospitality, transport and retail.

The results are based on a survey of 1,000 consumers across 19 countries respectively including 1,000 Irish consumers.

The most recent data was gathered between October 29th and November4th, immediately following the introduction of Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions nationwide.

It recorded a decrease in consumers’ confidence in engaging in person-to-person services, down 5 per cent since the previous wave of research to 49 per cent. There was also a significant decrease in those reporting that they would feel safe going a restaurant, down 11 per cent to 32 per cent.

Confidence in visiting shops was down 3 per cent to 61 per cent – perhaps unsurprising, as Covid-19 case numbers were seeing a spike and Level 5 restrictions had been newly introduced.

While there was no change in consumers’ willingness to shop online and pick up in-store, increases were recorded in consumers’ intent to shop online and have goods delivered across various sectors, including for electronics up 12 per cent to 46 per cent. Takeaways were on 33 per cent, up 6 per cent while clothes was at 46 per cent, up 15 per cent.

The survey recorded a decrease of 9 per cent in intent to spend on travel among Irish consumers while those planning to stay in a hotel for leisure travel over the next three months decreased by 10 per cent and confidence in staying in a hotel was down by 3 per cent. Confidence in air travel, meanwhile, saw a slight increase of 1 per cent.

"Consumer confidence levels saw an uptick during the summer months, when most businesses were allowed to open and case numbers were comparatively low. Now, conditions are not so positive, and so confidence is seeing another dip," said Deloitte's Head of Consumer Daniel Murray. He said the report highlighted "the sensitivity of consumer attitudes to external conditions."

He said the findings of this wave of research “paint a picture of a concerned – and therefore, cautious – consumer base” and he pointed to the findings which suggest that “the socially-conscious shopper is no longer the niche market it once was. Consumers not only expect businesses to actively align with their values – in fact, they are prepared to spend more on brands which do so.”