Deal Trends to Watch For

Consumers are obviously holding onto their hard-earned dollars and making sure to get the most bang for the buck when they do decide to spend money. We've seen some places where consumer purchasing behavior has changed drastically during this year, and we predict that, in order to lure consumers into buying, some retailers are going to have to work overtime to provide good deals.

Based on the data we're observing, there are some areas we think are going to be good places to find deals before the end of the year.

Overall, customers have been browsing more and purchasing less. In fact, there has been a 40% increase in the number of people clicking on coupons at Savings.com. In addition to the dramatic increase of people looking for or clicking on coupons, there has been a 42% increase in people that actually use the coupons to make their purchase.

While more people are looking for and using coupons, the amount they are spending with each purchase has decreased by $49.70 (or 33%) since Jan 2009. This can possibily be attributed to several things: people buying less, people spending less or perhaps people are getting better deals and discounts to bring their purchase total down.

Digging a little deeper some interesting things stick out:

Between January and August 2009, the search for and usage of clothing deals has increased by approximately 50%, but with the average purchase decreasing by 22%. People are spending less when it comes to buying clothes.

On the other hand, computer and office deals have seen a 42% gain in clicks in addition to the 18% increase in usage. But, while most people are spending less overall, this category is seeing a rise in average purchase. People are taking advantage of the excellent discounts available and upgrading their computer equipment while the deals are ripe for the picking.

The largest drop in average purchase was in the travel section. Between January and August, the average sale dropped $346 or 43%. Fall is not the time for large vacation packages and people are waiting for killer travel deals. And while the arts and photo category saw the largest increase in usage--from 7% to 24%, and the average spend here dropped about $7.

So where do we expect to see better deals?

Look for more pet coupons in the future as the clicks have increased four-fold in the pet category, yet the usage has dropped. This means people are looking for the deals, but not finding them--therefore the deals have to get better soon in order for retailers to stay afloat in this economy.

Also, look for better home and garden deals because the same phenomenon is happening there. The clicks have doubled since the beginning of the year, but the usage has dropped by a third. Be ready for some great deals to come out as their busy season ends.