Research reveals Aussie consumers are biggest bargain hunters

Research reveals Aussie consumers are biggest bargain hunters

New NCR research shows Australians switch shops and banks for the best deals, but stay for personalised service

Sydney, AUSTRALIA - NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), the world’s leading provider of self-service solutions, today revealed Australian consumers as the world’s biggest bargain hunters. Sixty nine percent of Australian respondents admitted to switching retailers or banks to get the best deals, better prices or more loyalty rewards - the highest of all countries surveyed according to the study by BuzzBack Market Research for NCR.

While price is important to Aussies, the vast number of respondents (87 percent) said they would stay loyal to a brand if it gives them more personalised interaction and control. They are achieving this through the use of self-service technologies like ATMs, retail self-checkouts and airline check-in kiosks.

NCR experts report that Australians have accepted self-service checkouts at up to double the rate of European and US shoppers. In the future they will have the ability to customise the self-checkouts’ on-screen graphics, voice and volume and opt for digital receipts sent by email or to their mobile phone.

Already, technology is available that enables banks to greet ATM customers by name and enable them to withdraw their favourite amount – speeding up service times by 40 per cent.

“NCR’s survey shows that while the global financial crisis has made consumers keener to shop around for a better deal, they still value individual, personalised service across all channels,” said Ross Checkley, managing director for NCR Corporation in the South Pacific. “Australians are increasingly expecting service choice – to have their preferences understood by companies and to be able to decide where and how they interact with them.”

 The new research also found:

• Thirty-nine percent of Australians would choose bank branches that offered them self-service for transactions like bill payments, deposits and statement printing. One reason is that consumers are time poor, with a third of bank customers saying they would choose branches that allowed them to get in and out faster.

• The desire for personalised service was reflected in the finding that 62 percent of Australians appreciated not being sent irrelevant information by brands, while 65 percent said that all of the information they needed was available across all channels.

• Innovative time-saving banking technologies are also gaining in popularity, with 44 percent of people expressing a desire to pay bills with their mobile phone. More than a quarter said they were open to using their mobile as an ‘electronic wallet’ for low-value payments.

“Last year we saw that Australians were looking not only for flexibility on price, but in the way they paid for their products. This year, the emphasis on cost and self-service convenience remains, but consumers also expect companies to have an understanding of their individual tastes across all channels”, said Checkley.

NCR is at the forefront of the move toward customer self-service and personalisation in retail stores, airports, banks, hotels, fast food restaurants and car hire companies. Its multi-channel solutions allow companies and consumers to communicate consistently via the internet, email, mobile devices, call centres and ATMs.

About the research

NCR commissioned BuzzBack Market Research Group - part of the BuzzBack LLC is a leading international market research firm headquartered in New York City - to conduct the research in March 2010 that polled over 2,500 people across five geographies - Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and India. This year is the third year the survey has been compiled to shed light on consumers' attitudes to technology, loyalty and self-service.

About NCR Corporation