Dealaholic India ready to spend time on bargaining

Women are more likely at 80 per cent to hunt out bargains, compared to 78 per cent of men who said they would not settle for a quick purchase

A survey confirms that Indians are dealaholics. Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange (Ipsos OTX), the global innovation centre of the world's third-largest market research company, Ipsos, has surveyed Indians as part of a global study, to find that 79 per cent of those surveyed would rather spend time and effort on searching for a good deal than settle for a more expensive purchase even though it might be quicker.

The bargain-hunting instincts of the Indian consumer could help cheer up glum brands, smarting from decreasing sales. It also reinforces the trend of offers and incentives that have always marked the festival season to spur purchases.

"Indian consumers have shown lately both impulsive and compulsive buying behaviour. But at the same time, they are dealaholics and hardcore value-for-money-seekers. No wonder sale/ discount offer periods record the highest revenue both for online and offline retailers," says Biswarup Banerjee, head of marketing communication, Ipsos in India.

The study spanned 25 countries and 18,503 adults between 16-64 years of age, and was conducted between 6th and 20th August, 2013.

While the online survey is representative of the entire population in most countries, in nine countries, including India, the Internet penetration (11.4 per cent in India) and low level of connectivity could be seen to have skewed the results in favour of the urban populace.

The 1,000 people polled from India represent a population that is more urban, educated, and with relatively higher income than in the hinterlands, what Ipsos refers to as 'Upper Deck Consumer Citizens'.

Even then, in India, the survey found, those with middle and high levels of income were fond of finding a better price, with 80 per cent and 74 per cent, respectively, likely to search for a good deal. Not much less than the 82 per cent with lower level of household income (88 per cent worldwide).

Women are more likely to make the effort with 80 per cent compared to 78 per cent of men who said they would spend time on hunting for a bargain than settle for a quick purchase. Worldwide, the trend is on an even keel with 83 per cent men and 86 per cent women keen on discounts and sale.

Those with low level of education were 100 per cent likely to seek out deals, compared to 80 per cent of those with higher level of education.

The countries with the highest proportions of those indicating they would rather spend time looking for good deals were Hungary (94 per cent), Spain (94 per cent), Great Britain (93 per cent), Argentina (92 per cent), Belgium (91 per cent), France (91 per cent) and Germany (91 per cent). This group of deal-chasers was followed by Australia (90 per cent), Italy (90 per cent), Mexico (90 per cent), Japan (88 per cent), South Africa (87 per cent), Canada (86 per cent), Poland (86 per cent), the United States (85 per cent), China (81 per cent), Russia (81 per cent) and South Korea (81 per cent). India, in fact, is in the lowest group, which includes Brazil (76 per cent), Saudi Arabia (76 per cent), Norway (75 per cent), Sweden (75 per cent), Turkey (74 per cent) and Indonesia (58 per cent).