Bone idle Brits are wasting £88.4 million a year by not venturing out onto the streets to bag a bargain. One in five Britons will not get out of bed to save a tenner on a purchase and one in ten would rather stay on the sofa than bank £50.
The new research out today from the price comparison website, also reveals that one in ten people won’t even bother to travel more than five miles for a massive saving of £500.
The study marks the annual Savvy Spender Day on Thursday 19th October, examining the shopping habits of the nation and encouraging people to think more wisely about their spending.
Men are the more frugal sex
Men are far more prepared than women to travel to save a bit of cash. Two thirds of men surveyed would travel more than two miles to save £10 compared to just over half of women. This trend extends to larger purchases too. Nearly six out of ten men are willing to go more than 75 miles to save £500 whereas just a third of women would make this kind of journey.
Londoners don’t save their capital
Londoners are the laziest shoppers in the UK, with nearly half refusing to travel further than a mile to save £10. Scotland is one of the thriftiest places, with more Scots (15%) willing to travel over 50 miles to make a saving of £50 than in any other area.
How far will your money take you?
The results of the research revealed shoppers’ “tipping points”. These are the deal-clinching distances that the nation is willing to travel for a purchase:
- To save £10, those surveyed said they would travel an average of 5.8 miles
- Britons would travel an average 15.5 miles for a saving of £50
- To save £100, Britons would travel 29 miles
- For a huge saving of £500, the average distance people are happy to travel increases to 68.2 miles
The typical family car uses just 13 pence worth of petrol per mile and the average bus ticket costs just £1.50, meaning Brits are potentially losing a lot of cash unnecessarily.
Savvy Spender Day is about urging people to be smart with their money and to shop around for the best price. Check prices on the internet before you make any purchase and think about whether the potential saving warrants the extra journey that may be required. Alternatively see if far flung retailers would be happy to send goods out to you if you cover postage. With Christmas looming, it is an important time of year to make your money go as far as possible.
Other Key Findings
- Two out of five Britons wouldn’t travel over a mile to save £10 on a purchase
- Those from Yorkshire are the most eager travellers for small savings, with two thirds willing to travel further than a mile to save £10
- Those living in South West England are almost as idle as Londoners, with a quarter saying they would not travel at all to save £10
- The savviest spenders overall in Britain are the Northern Irish. Nearly two thirds would travel over 50 miles to save £500 and two in five said they would go further than 15 miles to save £50
Separately, PriceRunner.co.uk now highlights retailers who are signed up to IMRGs “Internet Shopping Is Safe” (ISIS) scheme, a code of practice that acts as a best practice guide for retailers on the content of their website, payment processes, delivery, and post-sales service. The scheme is backed by the Government and retailers commit to being legal, decent, honest, truthful and fair – which means PriceRunner is again helping ensure consumers can shop and spend ‘savvy‘.
How far would you travel to save £10?
| Distance | Total % | Male % | Female % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 mile | 19 | 16 | 21 |
| Up to 2 miles | 17 | 18 | 15 |
| Up to 5 miles | 25 | 26 | 24 |
| Up to 10 miles | 12 | 14 | 10 |
| Up to 15 miles | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Up to 20 miles | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Up to 50 miles | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Up to 75 miles | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Up to 100 miles | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| More than 100 miles | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I wouldn’t travel | 20 | 18 | 21 |
How far would you travel to save £50?
| Distance | Total % | Male % | Female % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 mile | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Up to 2 miles | 9 | 7 | 10 |
| Up to 5 miles | 18 | 16 | 20 |
| Up to 10 miles | 25 | 26 | 23 |
| Up to 15 miles | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Up to 20 miles | 18 | 20 | 15 |
| Up to 50 miles | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| Up to 75 miles | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Up to 100 miles | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| More than 100 miles | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| I wouldn’t travel | 10 | 8 | 11 |
How far would you travel to save £100?
Distance
Total %
Male %
Female %
Up to 1 mile
1
1
1
Up to 2 miles
2
1
3
Up to 5 miles
8
6
10
Up to 10 miles
16
14
17
Up to 15 miles
12
11
13
Up to 20 miles
24
25
23
Up to 50 miles
18
21
16
Up to 75 miles
4
4
4
Up to 100 miles
4
6
2
More than 100 miles
2
3
1
I wouldn’t travel
8
7
10
How far would you travel to save £500?
Distance
Total %
Male %
Female %
Up to 1 mile
1
1
1
Up to 2 miles
0
0
0
Up to 5 miles
2
1
3
Up to 10 miles
5
5
6
Up to 15 miles
4
3
4
Up to 20 miles
10
6
14
Up to 50 miles
18
15
22
Up to 75 miles
7
6
7
Up to 100 miles
16
18
14
More than 100 miles
29
39
20
I wouldn’t travel
7
5
9
