Two thirds (65 per cent) of UK high street retailers give non publicised discounts to customers who are brave enough to haggle, according to a report published today by moneysupermarket.com.
In the study of UK retailers and consumers, 61 per cent of shop owners and managers report that the recession has made them more likely to offer 'non sale' discounts to close a deal. Yet almost a third (31 per cent) of retailers claim that customers rarely haggle with them and only 15 per cent report that they have a strict 'no discounts' policy.
Indeed a third of UK shoppers state that they have never tried to negotiate a price down on something they were buying, with the majority stating that embarrassment holds them back from trying to get a better deal. Only ten per cent say that they haggle on a regular basis.
Yet of those who have tried haggling, they report being successful on two out of three occasions and, on average, negotiated a 13.5% discount. Just seven per cent of hagglers received a straight no from the retailer and 73 per cent of people who asked for free items to be thrown in with a purchase were successful.
The products that consumers feel most comfortable negotiating on are electronic items such as TVs, DVD recorders and stereos (27 per cent). In contrast, just eight per cent of people negotiate when buying insurance or purchasing a car and only one in 20 haggle on their mobile phone contracts - ultra-competitive industries well-known for offering discounts or price matching.
To see this in practice, moneysupermarket.com sent eighteen volunteers out on to the shopping streets of London to try haggling for themselves. They visited over 120 stores including House of Fraser, M&S, H&M, TopShop, PC World, Boots, independent retailers and market stalls.
Twelve out of eighteen volunteers managed to haggle successfully in a high street store and were granted discounts of between five and 20 per cent. Consumer electronics stores and independent retailers were found to be the most open to haggling and, as expected, market stalls proved to be great negotiation territory. The way that you dress also appeared to have a bearing on the discount possible with 80 per cent of the experiment's successful hagglers being smartly dressed.
High street chains, department stores and supermarkets proved less haggle-friendly with many quoting central pricing policies. However, there are exceptions to the rule with House of Fraser offering a non-publicised 20 per cent discount on the purchase of two Jaeger men's shirts. Tesco also offered a five per cent 'at till' discount on a case of champagne. Haggling also threw up a large number of poorly publicised in-store discounts that would otherwise have been missed.
Populus research among UK retailers backs up these findings with 81 per cent of independent stores saying they are open to negotiation on price. Perhaps surprisingly, 73 per cent of the UK department stores polled and 71 per cent of high street chains say they are happy to give discounts at their discretion. Only 31 per cent of supermarkets are willing to give a non publicised discount.
Clare Francis of moneysupermarket.com comments: "As Brits, we all love to get a great deal, but it's not necessarily in our nature to haggle on price. This report shows, however, that many recession-hit retailers are open to negotiation - if people are brave enough to give it a go. Alternatively, if you want a good deal without the haggle, come to moneysupermarket.com."
- Ends -
Notes to editors:
Populus interviewed 108 owners, managers and middle managers of retailers and 2,506 consumers online between 18th and 23rd December 2009.
The High Street haggle Experiment took place on 28th December 2009. The findings include:
- Jaeger, House of Fraser
- 20% successfully negotiated on the purchase of two £75 men's shirts
- Micro Anvika
- Offered a £100 discount on purchase of a Samsung Series 8 42" TVs (£1429)
- Ted Baker
- Offers a non-publicised 5% discount on multiple purchases over £150
- BHS
- Off the record we were informed that the BHS customer magazine on the bottom of the pile offers a 20% off bar code
- Sony Store
- Offered free HD cable/aerial with 32" Sony Bravia TV
- Currys Digital
- Wiling to throw in Microsoft Office reduced by £30 (down from £100 to £69.99) if you buy £600 Acer laptop; it also offers £50 off if you buy more than one of an item
- M&S
- Offered a 10% discount if we bought three or more similar priced items from the Per Una range - we wanted to buy an woman's £85 coat
- Tesco
- Offered an additional 5% at the till discount on six already discounted bottles of champagne
- Millets
- Offer 10% discount on purchases over £60
- Bose
- Willing to offer 10% discount on any non-sale item in store
- Boots
- Will price match if you are able to offer proof
- Cyclopedia
- Offered free £35 bike chain with £565 bike
- Covent Garden market
- Vintage earrings down from £15 to £9; David & Goliath jumper down from £20 to £12; £325 emerald and gold pendant for £275 cash
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