Do you often find yourself in the same shop buying the same old stuff time and time again? Well, you’re not alone according to a new study of Aussie shopping habits by credit card firm American Express.
According to the American Express Pattern Spending Report 60 per cent of us rarely venture beyond 10 different retail and and online shops.
Conducted in February, the survey polled 1,993 Aussie shoppers and discovered only one in 10 of us are impulse shoppers and 85 per cent of us tend to shop the same way over and over and over again.
The results are good news for retailers – both online and bricks and mortar stores – willing and able to coax shoppers to change their habits. It’s also good news for credit card companies such as American Express, as it enables them to better monitor fraud amongst its card users.
American Express vice president of customer service Andrew Carlton said it is important for companies like his to study spending patterns in order to spot any unusual activity.
“Our intelligent security systems can easily detect those needles in the haystack transactions and this is one of the reasons why we have one of the lowest fraud rates in the country,” Carlton said.
The survey also identified different spending patterns and said most of us belong to at least two of these categories.
Spending pattern categories:
SALES SEEKERS: Spend most of their disposable income on special offers or during discount sales – 41 per cent of Australians fall into this category.
PASSIONISTS: Spend on a single hobby or activity, for example travel, or a particular sport or activity – they make up 30 per cent of the population.
LOCALISTS: Always spend in the same shopping centres – and make up 29 per cent of the population.
PAYDAYERS: As the name suggests, spending done very soon after payday – 28 per cent fall into this category.
LOYALISTS: Always shop with the same store brands or websites – making up 24 per cent of the population.
CYBER SPENDERS: Most spending done online rather than in a shop – they make up 22 per cent of the population.
CLOCK WATCHERS: Spend at the same time each week – 21 per cent fall into this category.
PLANNERS: Like to plan their spending and make their purchases evenly throughout the month at a wide variety of stores. They are usually middle aged or older – this spending category makes up 20 per cent of the population.
THE REST: Ten per cent of Australians have varied spending patterns, which are much more difficult to track. They spend at a wide variety of locations and stores, and at varied times.
