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Retail Purchasing Habits and Dollar Store Trends

Retail Purchasing Habits and Dollar Store Trends

As we all get ready to jump into a new year, we have one last Flash Points consumer data round-up for 2023. This time we’re asking:

How will brick & mortar retailers fare in 2024?

As retailers are in the middle of their busiest season, we asked consumers about their overall shopping habits in 2023 and how they might change going into 2024.

  • Brick and mortar retailers still have the edge over online stores with 53% of consumers reporting they are more likely to make a retail purchase in-store over online.
  • However, 38% of consumers reported they research products online before making an in-store purchase and an additional 54% said they do so at least sometimes.
  • While 26% of consumers reported making an in-person purchase at a retailer once a week (up 4% from 2022), 25% said they do so 2-3 times a week (down 11% from 2022) and 19% do so more than 3 times a week (down 8% from 2022).
  • Last year, 39% of consumers said they expected their retail purchases to decrease (as we’ve seen above) but this year 71% expect they will stay the same while 15% expect them to increase.
  • The leading factor when consumers are deciding which retailer to shop at is pricing at 89% followed by convenience/location at 85% and quality of products at 66%.

Did dollar stores disrupt retailers in 2023?

With dollar stores riding a high entering 2023, we asked consumers about their shopping habits at these discount retailers.

  • Dollar stores are a popular form of retailer with 91% of consumers reporting shopping at brands such as Dollar General, Family Dollar, or Dollar Tree.
  • Over 1/3 of consumers, 35%, said the frequency with which they shop at dollar stores increased in 2023 while 49% said it stayed the same.
  • The most popular types of products to shop for at dollar stores are household supplies at 83%, seasonal items such as snow shovels and gardening tools at 66%, and personal care products at 53%.
  • However, when shopping for toiletries, 65% of consumers said they would most likely visit a big box retailer while 21% said they would shop at a dollar store.

What’s your burning question?

We want to help you make informed business decisions. Each of our Flash Points typically collect between 1500-3000 responses in a 24-48 hour period — free of charge!

If you have a burning question, submit your question and the results will be emailed to you the results once the data has been collected. Submit your question here or email letschat@intouchinsight.com.

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