About three in four consumers admit to comparing prices and choosing cheaper brands when shopping, and more than half have put promotional products in their shopping cart, according to a survey published today by Centromarca.
The conclusions come from a survey conducted by Kantar and analyzed in collaboration with Centromarca – Portuguese Association of Branded Products Companies, with a sample of 4,000 participating households, representative of mainland Portugal, spread over more than 1,000 survey points, who made their purchases between January and January indicated. October 2 and 8, 2023.
“The Portuguese continue to look for promotions and compare prices,” Centromarca noted, highlighting that “between January and September 2023, 51.3% of national consumer purchase occasions had products on offer” and that “77% of consumers surveyed also stated that they compare prices and choose the most economical brands”.
Furthermore, the data allowed us to conclude that in 2023, consumers in Portugal continued to increase the frequency of shopping and decrease the volume purchased each time, but both trends slowed compared to last year.
In the third quarter, consumers even reduced the number of times they went shopping, compared to 2022.
While the purchase frequency for food increased by 3.3%, for fresh products by 2% and for drinks by 3.3%, there was a decrease of 0.9% for pet food.
At the same time, the volume per purchase transaction decreased in all categories, which was most visible in pet food (-8.2%), but was also recorded in food (-7.3%), in fresh products (-7.7%) and in drinks (-6%).
The data also showed that there was a significant year-on-year increase in the volume of products outside the VAT zero package in the second and third quarters of the year.
“The reversal of zero VAT, from January 1, could also counteract the increase in the size of the basket in products outside the basket covered by the measure, which has been observed in recent months,” said the director of Cantar’s customer area . Marta Santos.
Distribution brands continued to gain relevance in Portuguese homes, with the frequency of purchases in those areas registering a 4.4% increase between 2022 and 2023, further highlighted by the significant 19.4% increase in the amount consumers spend on these brands give out.
“The gradual decline in inflation and the expected salary adjustment may allow a slight recovery of purchasing power for many families, which have been severely depleted in the past two years. However, it is necessary to take into account the adverse consequences of the reversal of inflation. the Zero VAT at the beginning of January,” said Centromarca General Manager Pedro Pimentel.
For the person responsible, “if the political conditions exist, this would be the right time to discuss proposals for the harmonization of VAT in the food sector”.
Source: DN
