The UK’s Biggest Bargain Hunters Revealed

Everybody loves a bargain when shopping online, and UK consumers are no exception. But where in the UK is home to the biggest bargain hunters? The Cheating Countries study, compiled by online slot specialists Pink Casino, analyses search data to reveal which money-saving searches come out top in the UK, and how our shopping habits have changed during lockdown. The study found:

• London is the city with the cheapest shopping habits in the UK, while the North West is the biggest bargain-hunting region.
• Searches for ‘cheap clothes’ almost doubled (up 46.3%) in the first three months after the UK Covid-19 lockdown was imposed.
• Fast Fashion retailer ASOS comes out on top for queries around ‘student discount’, followed by Boohoo.

Which discounts do shoppers like best?

While we know that UK shoppers favour a discount, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly which clothing retailers Brits want to save money on the most.

By looking at the average monthly queries made for the top UK retailers, we can see that shoppers are most likely to purchase items from Amazon, Next or Debenhams.

The most-searched discount terms include cashback, ‘buy now pay later’, sale, free trial, and free shipping.

The study also showed that searches for discounts peaked at different times of the year. In the UK, searches for ‘cashback’ are the highest around Black Friday (between 24-30 November), while ‘free trial’ peaked the week after the UK lockdown started (22-28 March).

Does online shopping encourage Fast Fashion?

Fast fashion - whereby trend-led clothing is mass produced to be sold at a discounted price on the high street - remains a prevalent global issue, while an estimated 10,000 items of clothing are sent to landfill every five minutes in the UK alone.

The research points to unsustainable shopping habits having risen substantially in the UK during the Covid-19 lockdown, as searches for ‘cheap clothes’ almost doubled (up 46.3%) and ‘free shipping’ queries rose by 22.2%.

Younger generations appear to be the primary perpetrators behind fast fashion supply and demand, as searches for ‘student discount’ peak for brands ASOS, Missguided, Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing - retailers known for their cheap clothes production.

In summary...

And it’s not just when buying clothes that Brits look to save money - analysis also shows that queries for ‘free trials’ increased by almost a third (32%) in the first three months of lockdown, peaking for streaming services like Disney Plus, Netflix and Shudder, as well as video conferencing platform Zoom and eCard provider JibJab.

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