Shoppers over-spending by almost €500 a year chasing supermarket discounts

46% of shoppers surveyed have agreed to ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘three for two’ sale offers, which leads them to spend more, with 30% of shoppers believing supermarket loyalty schemes and money-off vouchers also lead them to waste food. File picture

Irish shoppers could be overspending by almost €500 a year "chasing" supermarket voucher discounts, new research suggests.

The study by Coyne Research, conducted between June 21 and July 6, with 1,000-adults sampled, found half of Irish shoppers claimed to have intentionally overspent, shopped more frequently or bought something they didn’t need to qualify for supermarket money-off vouchers.

It also showed 46% of shoppers surveyed have agreed to ‘buy one get one free’ or ‘three for two’ sale offers, which leads them to spend more, with 30% of shoppers believing supermarket loyalty schemes and money-off vouchers also lead them to waste food.

Their average additional weekly spend was €9, with three in 10 shoppers claiming the additional spend was over €10.

Given Irish shoppers make on average 53 supermarket shopping trips per year, the research means Irish shoppers could be spending €477 per year more than they need to on groceries in chasing voucher discounts.

The survey, which was commissioned on behalf of Aldi Ireland, also found 30% believe supermarket loyalty schemes and money-off vouchers lead them to waste food.

Aldi Ireland does not operate a loyalty scheme or money-off vouchers and says it focuses instead “on offering the lowest grocery prices possible”.

Its group managing director, Niall O’Connor, said the research findings clearly show that current supermarket loyalty schemes and money-off vouchers may actually increase the cost of Irish families’ weekly shop.

“The cost of running these marketing ploys is built into our competitors’ grocery prices and ultimately mean higher prices for shoppers,” he said.

“Aldi works to give customers the very best prices every time they shop at our stores. We don’t want to reward only some customers who sign up for a scheme that they don’t really need."

Coyne Research’s managing director Bernie Coyne said at a time when many families are suffering a squeeze on their budgets, vouchers and other supermarket schemes may seem tempting.

But Daragh Cassidy, head of communication with price comparison website bonkers.ie, urged consumers not to be blindsided by such schemes.

“Food prices in Ireland are relatively high, with the cost of grocery shopping above the EU average and what previous research has shown is that consumers say they want consistently lower prices — they don’t want gimmicks, or special offers, they don’t want to buy three items of a certain product when they only need one,” he said.

They would prefer if they were slightly less gimmicks and less deals, with longer-term better value.

“Supermarkets are not offering these vouchers and deals for the good of consumers’ health.

“They are out there to make money and consumers need to be aware of that.

“Supermarkets have lots of tactics to convince you you’re getting a better deal. Even those that don’t offer vouchers, like Aldi and others, use these tactics, so the general advice to consumers is try not to be blindsided by offers.”

SuperValu defended its recently updated Real Rewards programme.

A spokesperson said it was designed using customer feedback and allows those who download the Real Rewards app weekly money-off vouchers which they can see in advance of going shopping in-store or online.

“These vouchers are suitable to a wider range of shoppers as some are weekly basket shoppers while others are large trolley shoppers,” she said.

“SuperValu continue invest in the Real Rewards programme to ensure real value savings for our shoppers.

"We continue to offer great value for money and this new programme will offer even more to shoppers, tailored to their needs.”