Shoppers are returning to frugal times in wake of financial crisis

La recessione ha creato una nuova generazione di famiglie “frugali” che stanno comprando minori quantita’ di cibo, surgelando gli avanzi e tagliando il superfluo, come testimonia uno dei maggiori e piu’ antichi rivenditori della Gran Bretagna.

Shoppers are even buying smaller Christmas puddings this year compared with normal, as they try and cut down on waste and save money.

Andy Bond, chief executive of Asda, said: “This is not a blip and we will return to where we were before.

This downturn will shape a whole generation of consumers for whom frivolity is no longer acceptable and frugality becomes cool.”

His comments came as he unveiled a major report in conjunction with the think tank Centre for Economic and Business Research into how shoppers were coping with the downturn.

According to the report, 40 per cent of consumers were ignoring best-before dates, 32 per cent were freezing left over food and 30 per cent were even washing their clothes less in an attempt to lower household bills.

“Customers are redefining need. They are now asking ‘do I really need this?'” said Mr Bond.

The research also showed that 40 per cent of consumers claimed they were visiting hairdressers less frequently, but sales of hair dye at Asda have increased by 27 per cent compared with last year.

Sales of bottled water and Indian ready meals, meanwhile, have fallen sharply.
Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of CEBR, said: “In an environment were consumers will no longer tolerate waste, trading down to smaller portion sizes makes sense.”