Psychologist reveals just why you love shopping with your bestie

Psychologist reveals why your best friend is the ultimate shopping partner 

• One in five women would choose their friend as their ideal shopping partner

• Over a quarter of women have more fun shopping on the high street than online

• Consumer experts share top tips to save money on your shopping

The ultimate shopping partner is your best friend a new poll reveals, as over 20% of women agree that a friend’s advice matters the most when shopping.

The study, commissioned by the UK’s favourite bingo site, Gala Bingo, as part of the launch of its Boss Benefits loyalty scheme, asked 2,000 women about their high-street habits to find out who their ideal shopping partner is and what they love most about shopping.

More than one in five (22%) women said they prefer shopping alone. However, when choosing someone to shop with, friends came out on top (20%) with daughters in second place (16%).

Shoppers were also most likely to trust their friends with shopping advice, as 22% revealed they value their friend’s opinion most when asking about new purchases.

  Top five ultimate shopping partners are:

1. Friend

1. Daughter

1. Mum

1. Sister

1. Partner

Psychologist, Michael Padraig Acton, commented on why our friends make the ultimate shopping partner: “We shop together to help steer each other in a safe manner. We thrive in groups. Yes, we all need our alone down-time when we choose this to recharge. However, shopping is usually best done together.”

Whether shopping online or on the high street, the nation is keen to save money on their shopping with almost half (48%) enjoying shopping more when they know they’ve received a discount or saved money, and 22% prefer shopping at stores that have a loyalty scheme and discounts in place.

Here are five ways to save money on your shopping:

1) Follow brands on social media for the latest sales: 

 Many online retail brands are on social media. Sometimes, they release information about special offers and promotions to their followers on social media first before they do it elsewhere. 1

2) Shop on the correct days: 

Studies show that the best time to do online shopping for UK customers is Tuesday to Thursday. Online retailers roll out some of their best deals on these days, so waiting to do your shopping then can be a great money saving hack. 2

3) Follow influencers and bloggers for discount codes: 

Bloggers often give honest reviews about products, but they also have their own unique discount codes, which you wouldn’t usually find on websites. 3

4) Shop using incognito mode: 

Online sites often use cookies to track your online activity. They can then use this information to set up dynamic prices for you, meaning that you might be shown a higher price for the same item than a person visiting a retailing site for the first time. To prevent this, do your online shopping in ‘incognito’ mode on your browser. Alternatively, clear your cache and cookies every time you search for an item online. 4

5) Note the free shipping threshold: 

Some online retailers will offer free shipping if you buy items above a certain threshold. If you realise that you are close to the free shipping threshold, spending a little more on products might end up saving you money in the long run. 5

Gala Bingo also spoke to retail expert, Deirdre McGettrick, Founder & CEO of ufurnish.com, to find out some more shopping hacks: “If you’re looking to find the perfect items, outline your spending goals and stick to them! Product filtering implementations are the best way for consumers to switch products and find exactly what they want, at the best possible price.

“Enabling consumers to receive bespoke results as they apply unique filters based on their style and budget specifications will enable shoppers to search and compare the perfect products, within their minimum and maximum price range, without breaking the bank.”

Karina Adrian, head of brand marketing at Gala Bingo, said: “It’s great to see so many people still love shopping on our high streets and enjoy the social aspect of going out to shop with a friend or family member.

“We want to encourage people to support our high streets and the launch of our Boss Benefits loyalty scheme allows players to receive discounts across a variety of top UK retailers, such as ASDA, Argos, ASOS, Marks and Spencer and The Body Shop to name a few.”

To find out more about Gala Bingo Boss Benefits visit: www.galabingo.com/en/p/promotions/boss-benefits