Careful buyers swayed by bargains

July 20, 2021

Frugal people are more likely than spendthrifts to give in to the allure of deep discounts, be it a Black Friday Sale, two for one offers, or buy one get one half price.

To justify the unplanned purchase that is at odds with their highly disciplined approach to spending, frugal shoppers tend to categorise the purchase as a necessity as opposed to a luxury,

In times of recession or economic downturns, consumers tend to turn into more price-conscious consumers. Three new studies have been carried out by a US team from St Edward’s University, who note that buying tendencies of frugal shoppers is one of the less studied aspects of consumer behaviour.

“Essentially, frugal consumers convince themselves they ‘really’ need the product to justify getting the deep discount and call it a ‘win’ in the smart shopper category,” comments assistant professor of marketing, Sarah Mittal, on her team’s findings. “Frugality is a trait that balances spending restraint and exuberant exploitation of bargain opportunities. It seems that deep discounts truly are the folly of frugal shoppers.

“Marketers who partake in deep discounting should stick to moderate- to high-need items. What we found is that frugal individuals justify the splurge by adjusting up their perceived ‘need’ for a product. The effect did not hold for low need items (eg a selfie stick or a banana holder – too frivolous to justify even for the frugal). Marketers can also emphasize the practical utility of a product to help nudge frugals to buy the deal.”

Source: The Journal of Business Research & www.eurekalert.org.

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