Wildfire Systems’ 2024 Consumer Shopping Report Finds Shoppers Continue to Seek Ways to Save When Making Purchases Online, Even as Inflation Cools

Latest shopping trends survey finds 77% of consumers are more interested than ever before in earning cashback rewards for shopping, while 60% will spend more if they have access to deals or coupons 

Wildfire Systems, an innovative financial technology platform that powers reward programs, shopping companions, and content monetization, released their 2024 consumer trends report, titled, “Banking on Shopping Rewards: The Value-Added Services Consumers Prefer.” The report finds that most consumers have continued to refine their deal hunting strategies in order to save money when buying products online.

Wildfire partnered with research firm Big Village for its survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 18+ to determine what’s driving their spending behavior online and implications this behavior has on the financial services industry and retail brands. The results provide insight into how consumers prefer to save money when shopping online, and where consumers would like to access their preferred savings tactics.

The 2024 survey found consumers are using cashback and coupons to earn rewards and save money even more than shopping at discount retailers or buying generic products. Seventy-seven percent of respondents are more interested than ever before in earning cashback rewards for shopping. And they increasingly expect their financial services providers to provide these money-saving features: 54% of respondents expect cashback and coupons from their credit card and 33% expect it from their bank. A majority (64%) of respondents reported they use cashback rewards (30%) and coupons (34%) the most to save money when shopping online, far more than those who reported shopping in an online offer portal or paying with points or miles to save. This further confirms the findings from Wildfire’s 2023 consumer report, “Shopping in the New Normal,” which found that 87% of consumers expected their new money-saving habits to stick going forward.

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“Our survey found that cashback rewards and coupons are becoming an essential value-added service for budget-conscious consumer. These services can drive banking customer loyalty as well as increase consumer spending – a win-win for banks and retailers,” said Jordan Glazer, CEO, Wildfire Systems. “Giving banking customers these ways to save, drives tender preference, grows reward program participation, and increases customer loyalty; while benefits to retailers include higher sales conversion and average order value.”

Browser extensions drive savings and retail purchases

Almost one in three (27%) consumers said they’re using cashback browser extensions more than they did last year. Seventy-percent (70%) of consumers who have ever added a browser extension to their browser said they use an extension for cashback rewards or online coupons frequently.

Wildfire also found that the browser extensions shoppers use to receive cashback rewards and discounts on their purchases benefit online retailers as well:

• 93% of consumers indicated they are more likely to complete their purchase if they’re saving with their extension
• 88% of respondents who use a browser extension choose to shop at merchants where they will get a deal
• 60% said getting a deal encourages them to spend more

Survey results show that consumers find value in their cashback browser extensions, including helping them to shop with confidence:

• 86% say they find the offers in their extension valuable
• 84% trust the offers they get in their extension

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Consumers prefer to receive cashback and coupons from their bank or credit card
Respondents report that money-saving services are much more useful than other services banks provide, and indicate a preference for cashback rewards and coupons to be provided by their bank and/or credit card:

• 79% of respondents would be more likely to install a browser extension for cashback and coupons if it was offered by their primary bank
• 74% rated earning rewards for online shopping from their bank or credit card as useful and 73% rated online coupons from their bank or credit card as useful
• Respondents say cashback rewards and coupons are much more useful than features like enabling offers within a bank’s app or website (59%) or spreading payments over time with Buy Now Pay Later plans (49%)
• 68% rated the ability to earn rewards when shopping online as the most important value-added bank feature