Compassionate Commerce: Five Digital Tools to Support Budget-Conscious Consumers

For the last several years, consumers felt the extreme pinch of inflation, yet they continued to spend thanks to retailers’ ability to offer compelling discounts. At the end of January, 54% of consumers told us that they expected the cost of most goods to go up. Combine that with all of the tariff talk and extreme stock market volatility, and shoppers are heavily scrutinizing their spending. As a result, consumers will look for strategic ways to effectively manage expenses, and they’ll appreciate the retailers who help them do so.

Here are five digital tools retailers can build into their apps and sites to help consumers save money:

1. A pie chart to show consumers what percentage of their spend with the retailer goes to each type of product

Many credit card companies currently round-up consumers’ monthly expenses in a neat pie chart so they can evaluate which categories are causing the most of their costs. For retailers and brands selling various product types, it could be helpful for shoppers to see the breakdown of how they’re spending to feel more empowered and uncover opportunities to be more strategic with their purchase patterns.

2. Budget-constrained suggestion tool to get the best bang for the buck according to tastes

In October, Taco Bell launched the “Name Your Price” capability within its app, where participants can input the amount they want to spend. The brand would then suggest a combination of menu items that fit the bill. Given UK consumers’ familiarity with meal deals, this engaging order suggestion model would also translate well in categories outside of food and beverage. For example, a shopper could enter into an apparel retailer’s site that they have £50 to spend on a pair of jeans, a blouse, and a belt. Then, the retailer can suggest a few combinations within this spending amount.

3. Price alerts when an item goes on sale

Some retailers already notify shoppers when an item sitting in their cart receives a price reduction. With retailers’ ability to track browsing history, consumers could opt into a feature where retailers ping them when an item they’ve merely been eyeing goes on promotion.

4. Price per wear/use calculator based on the estimated lifespan of a products

“Price per wear” has become a commonly-discussed calculation conducted among consumers to justify a spend. While this metric may be exposing for some brands, openness to sharing it is a positive signal to the consumer that the product possesses durability. Retailers could build a calculator for shoppers to enter their guess as to how many times they will wear or use the item in question, and based on what the retailer estimates are the product's lifespan, the consumer can see how much each use would cost over that time. This could make the shopper feel better or worse about the potential purchase, helping them decide if it’s a worthwhile expense.

5. Returns and repeat purchase data optimizers

Retailers have long discussed leveraging AI to find patterns in returns data to both help them identify and discourage frequent returners. Why not share some of the returns data with customers to help them avoid making purchases they’ll end up regretting?

For instance, if a consumer mistakenly buys the wrong shade of foundation that they’ve previously purchased and returned, there is the potential for them to lose money when missing the return window. Retailers could flag for shoppers the fact that they have purchased a particular item before and ended up returning it. This flagging system could be established for all kinds of returns- colorways, shades, sizes, etc. The flag could say something like, “purchased on X date, returned on Y date,” to signal the realization that the item didn’t work.

On the other hand, retailers could flag items consumers have purchased more than once, or frequently, as repeat purchases. It’s worth noting that this is different from Amazon’s “buy again” function, as it would be a visible tag on the product page when conducting product research, and this is different from having to sift through one’s emails to find purchase history. These flags would greatly help consumers avoid spending as much on returns and help them navigate more quickly to what works for them.

To learn more about how we’ve helped our clients in the retail industry navigate change, check out some of our case studies.

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