When going gets tough, every consumer looks for discounts and bargains and US consumer is no different.
According to a report by GlobalData, more than half of these consumers – also called bargain hunters – are parents having children below 18 years.
And what’s worth noting is that around one-fifth of these bargain hunters have reported salary cuts, while another 10 per cent of these have said that they are now jobless.
So it’s not surprising when salary-cut or jobless parents seek bargains.
The US Department of Labor in its report released yesterday (15 October) highlighted that number of new jobless claims has jumped by a whopping 53,000 week-over-week to reach 898,000 – highest since 22 August 2020.
In fact GlobalData also says that the unemployment rate may massively jump to 9.53 per cent in 2020. It was 3.66 per cent last year.
With holiday seasons nearing, the above data is a distinct indication that the retail world could face many highly price-sensitive consumers.
As the number of consumers asking for bargains and discounts continue to grow, retailers need to find new strategies to target this group – with focus on affordability of the product.
Apparels, fashion accessories and shoes are going to be in major demand in the coming holiday season but unless retailers work on pricing strategies soon, their sales could be hit this season –and if not this season, then the first few months of 2021 may turn out to be painful for retailers.
