October 22 2006

'Brits don't go the distance for a bargain' - Pricerunner report.

According to the report, "Bone idle Brits are wasting £88.4 million a year by not venturing out onto the streets to bag a bargain. One in five Britons will not get out of bed to save a tenner on a purchase and one in ten would rather stay on the sofa than bank £50." While not quite at supermodel levels (ie not getting out of bed for less than £10k) this report makes fun reading and - crucially for a wet weekend - reminds us all as consumers, not as retailers of the sheer drugery that necessity-purchase shopping can be. Some aspects of the report are also covered in our Editorial.

The new research out today from the price comparison website www.pricerunner.co.uk also reveals that one in ten people won't even bother to travel more than five miles for a massive saving of £500. The study marks the annual Savvy Spender Day on Thursday 19th October, examining the shopping habits of the nation and encouraging people to think more wisely about their spending.

The study shows:

Men are the more frugal sex Men are far more prepared than women to travel to save a bit of cash. Two thirds of men surveyed would travel more than two miles to save £10 compared to just over half of women. This trend extends to larger purchases too. Nearly six out of ten men are willing to go more than 75 miles to save £500 whereas just a third of women would make this kind of journey. Londoners don't save their capital Londoners are the laziest shoppers in the UK, with nearly half refusing to travel further than a mile to save £10. Scotland is one of the thriftiest places, with more Scots (15%) willing to travel over 50 miles to make a saving of £50 than in any other area. How far will your money take you? The results of the research revealed shoppers' "tipping points". These are the deal-clinching distances that the nation is willing to travel for a purchase:

To save £10, those surveyed said they would travel an average of 5.8 miles

Britons would travel an average 15.5 miles for a saving of £50

To save £100, Britons would travel 29 miles

For a huge saving of £500, the average distance people are happy to travel increases to 68.2 miles.

The typical family car uses just 13 pence worth of petrol per mile and the average bus ticket costs just £1.50, meaning Brits are potentially losing a lot of cash unnecessarily.

Chief Executive Officer of PriceRunner Europe Carl White explains how, with the right information, shoppers could save a bundle: "Savvy Spender Day is about urging people to be smart with their money and to shop around for the best price. Check prices on the internet before you make any purchase and think about whether the potential saving warrants the extra journey that may be required. Alternatively see if far flung retailers would be happy to send goods out to you if you cover postage. With Christmas looming, it is an important time of year to make your money go as far as possible."