January sales declared ultimate sale!
You love the January Sales, most of you aren’t fans of Black Friday, and a surprising minority are insanely organised! Here are the results from our 2014 sales survey...
January Sales still King
Despite the enthusiastic onslaught of Black Friday Sales this year it seems, in the UK at least, that January is still the main sales attraction. Over half of those surveyed bought absolutely nothing during Black Friday, whereas 93% of people plan to bag a bargain during the January Sales. Quite a difference!
The most popular items people are planning to buy in the January Sales are cut-price fashion and beauty items. Home and garden purchases are in second place, and next year's Christmas presents come in third.
UK Anti-Black Friday Sales (unless you’re a teenager or Irish!)
It’s not that people are just ignoring the Black Friday Sales: almost 7 in 10 people think importing them from the USA was a bad idea. Ouch!
Perhaps this comes down to seemingly lower discounts, as almost 9 in 10 people think January Sales offer better deals than Black Friday. As a result, a staggering 95% say Black Friday won’t stop them shopping the January Sales.
There are, however, a few people who buck the trend: teenagers and people living in Ireland. In the latter group, 85% thought importing Black Friday was a good idea, compared to only around 30% in the rest of the UK.
As for teenagers? They can’t get enough of Black Friday! Over half of them thought it was a good idea to import the sale, and they were the age group most likely to spend during Black Friday, with 56% reporting purchases, compared to just 16% for the over 60s.
Teens are also the age group most likely to think Black Friday offers the best deals, with 1 in 5 saying this sale offers better deals than the January Sales. Unsurprisingly, then, teenagers are most likely to be put off the January Sales because of Black Friday.
Online Sales Dominate
Only 3% of people shop the sales exclusively on the high street, compared to 27% who shop them exclusively online. The most popular shopping method - with 7 out of 10 people opting for it - is a combination of both online and high street.
The appeal of online shopping has increased dramatically over the years, with 78% of people shopping for sales online more now than 2 years ago.
Oddly, though, it’s supposedly tech-savvy teens who are are least likely to shop exclusively online! Only 11% of them use the internet alone for sales shopping, compared to 36% of thirty-somethings.
Who buys next year's Christmas presents in the sales?
We’ve already mentioned the organised elite among us: a quarter of those surveyed are so supremely prepared that they're already buying next year's presents in the January sales. A thrifty third of shoppers snapped up bargain Christmas presents in the Black Friday sales.
Wonder where these sales-savvy folks live? Those in Ireland were the most likely to be buying Christmas presents in the Black Friday Sales, whilst those in the South of England were most likely to buy next year's festive goodies in the January sales.
Sales Mad UK
The overall message? You lot love a good sale!
1 in 20 people surveyed think sales are more exciting than Christmas, and a whopping 8 out of 10 agree that sales offer a great chance to grab a bargain!
As for the organised, thrifty minority among us: one fifth of the UK does most of their big shopping (ie. not food or other everyday essentials) during the sales.
And it seems more people than ever are going that way, with 48% of those surveyed reporting that they use sales for their big shopping more now than last year. (We want to know their organisational tips!)
But is there a dark side to sales shopping? Over half of us admit to buying something in a sale we later regretted, and over three quarters said sales make them more likely to impulse buy.
And if you’re wondering how people are planning to beat the January Blues ... yep, you’ve got it: more shopping! 42% think nabbing a few sales bargains will cheer them up this month. We'd have to agree with them!
You can see the full results of our sales survey here.
Image Source 1: dolgachov
Image Source 2: Maksim Toome
Image Source 3: Jason Batterham