How do customers try to save money and how can marketers respond?

Economise with HighCo DATA: a win-win for sales strategies and consumers.

HighCo DATA spares neither money nor effort when it comes to helping marketers. In this blog post, we offer insight into a number of strategic design promotions and campaigns that will help your customers save money. 

It’s the nature of the beast: consumers will go to all lengths to save money, especially when it comes to food. Whether that means buying products that are on sale or using customer loyalty cards, anything goes for shoppers who want to cut back on their spending. If you’re a marketer, it’s particularly important that you understand these trends because that’s the only way you’ll be able to respond to them. The way customers see it, economising is not the same as stopping buying. 

All around the world, food prices are skyrocketing. And of course, this is something we are all feeling in our wallets. With 15.51% inflation, we are paying a good deal more for our shopping than we did just a year ago. Bargain hunter Gunther Devisch and food expert Sarah Dries from the Vlaams Instituut Gezond Leven (which translates as ‘Flemish Institute for Healthy Living’) teamed up to look at the scientific data and share a little advice to help everyone save at the register. We put their tips under the microscope and look at them from a different perspective: that of the big-name manufacturers. 


•    Check the price per kilo/litre

By comparing the price based on weight/content, consumers find the best deals and save up to 50 euro per month. 


•    Buy ‘1+1 free’ or ‘2+1 free’ specials

These specials are usually an excellent way to save money on favourite products. 

Make the most of this as a brand by integrating volume discounts into your promotion plan. For example, offer a second product at half price, or give away discount coupons with the purchase of multiple items. Both actions have been proven successful time and time again. 


•    Wait for promotions

In general, there is a special offer for most products every three to six months. With a little patience—a virtue indeed—buyers will encounter great savings. They will want to stock up enough to make sure their low-price purchases will last until the next promotion arrives. 

If your brand is in a situation where it’s possible to build up stock, this is a great strategy to put into play. In the current times of rampant inflation, it’s best to make sure that people purchase your brand rather than your competitor’s. Take a look at the situation for your seasonal products and aim for maximum effect when you communicate about your stock-clearance actions. 

Are you worried that customers, with their refrigerators and cellars full, will stop buying from you? In that case, make sure you collect their details and organise regular email-marketing campaigns. This will keep your brand firmly top of mind with them. 


•    Use customer loyalty cards

A great many stores offer loyalty programmes where customers can save points or benefit from discounts. The customer loyalty card is a prime example. It allows the holder to collect bonus points that result in a discount on their next purchase. 

Are your customers active users of cards like these? Spoil them with extra discounts. What if you see that the card use of a different part of your customer base has dropped? No worries. Just send them a direct email to encourage them to use their customer card. 


•    Plan your menu so you don’t throw anything out

The best way for consumers to avoid wasting food and save money at the same time is to check what they still have in the house before heading to the supermarket. This is helpful information to use in putting together their menu. 

Try to contribute to this creatively as a brand. Discuss it with your clients and ascertain their needs—and then use your products to offer them a response. Social media is the perfect tool for picking up ideas and reactions. 


•    Use a healthy eating app

In Flanders, it’s called Zeker Gezond: Definitely Healthy. Similar apps exist everywhere, showing consumers the path to healthy, budget-friendly ingredients and recipes. 


•    Adapt your diet

It’s no secret that meat and fish are anything but cheap. Replacing them with local vegetables will ease the strain on consumer’s wallets. 

Make sure that your brand takes sustainability into account, and factor reigning trends into your product evaluations. Check that there’s sufficient attention paid to this in your product strategy. And, not unimportantly, ask whether your clients are informed about this. Make sure that all the efforts you’ve gone to as a brand in the past few years are proudly and comfortably being highlighted. 


•    Use a deep freezer

Consumers who freeze foods waste less and save more. 

There are so few brands that pursue this, so make the most of the opportunity! Communicate clearly about how your product is best being stored. Your customers will benefit from this. And that’s all it takes for an extra bit of brand love to be born. Incidentally, have you thought about offering a little gift in line with this trend? You might consider giving away a few frozen meals containers or letting your clients take part in a competition to win a freezer. HighCo DATA organizes the logistics behind this activation for you. 



•    Combine stores

No supermarket is the cheapest each and every time. It pays to visit a few different stores. 

Does your brand have a database of customer email addresses? Keep your clients informed about where there are interesting specials to be found. Or make them happy with a discount coupon for their favourite store.

As a marketer, making the most of these tips is to your benefit. Put together recipes with a veggie twist (and of course, your products), set up omnichannel promotions or put the emphasis on weight/content-based prices with a ‘1+1 free’ promotion.

HighCo DATA: Experience is the best teacher.

The figures don’t lie. We are living in a time when food prices are off the charts. Which inexorably makes consumers feel they need to reduce their expenditure. As a brand, it’s important to recognise this and support your clients on every level. HighCo DATA helps you with this in several different ways: 


-    Strategic partnership

The core of our services. By working closely with brands, HighCo DATA helps to stimulate sales and cultivate customer loyalty. For consumers, this collaboration results in more—and better—promotions. In turn, they lead straight back to strongly reduced expenditure. 


-    E-coupons and cashbacks

HighCo DATA offers multi-brand e-coupons with national coverage. They’re handy for marketers who want to attract customers to their stores. In fact, it may be even more handy when those clients go searching for serious discounts. 

As well as this, HighCo DATA launches cashback campaigns. This puts consumers in the position, after their purchase, to be reimbursed in part or in full for the amount they have spent. 


-    Sampling campaigns

With these campaigns, HighCo DATA—in collaboration with your brand—gives your consumer the opportunity to try new products. There’s no need for them to pay for this first introduction. 


-    Loyalty programmes

HighCo DATA has plenty of experience to put at your disposal for setting up loyalty campaigns. These programmes are intended to help consumers save points that they can trade for discounts. 


Are you a marketer who is looking through the eyes of clients and consumers? And who wants to help them save? Get in touch with us now. HighCo DATA has the solutions you’re looking for. 

Inspired? Inform us about your challenge and we will help you out.