National Consumer Agency Shopping and Pricing Market Research Findings August 2009 Research Conducted by

A. Research Background & Methodology B. Profile of Sample KEY FINDINGS: SECTION 1: Shopping and Pricing Table of Contents

A. Research Background & Methodology

B. Profile of Sample

KEY FINDINGS:

SECTION 1: Shopping and Pricing

B. Profile of Sample – I (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) Male Female % % % % 15-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 Married Living as Married Single Wid/Div/ Sep AB C1 C2 D E F50+ F50- MAIN GROCERY SHOPPER Yes No

B. Profile of Sample – II – Internet Use (Base: All Respondents – 1,000) USE INTERNET No Yes EVER PURCHASED ONLINE No Yes BANKING ONLINE No Yes (Base: All Internet Users - 650) (Base: All Internet Users - 650) () = figures from wave 2 ’08 (64%) (36%) (42%) (58%) (34%) (66%) % Yes % Yes % Yes Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+

Section 1: Shopping and Pricing

Goods & Services Purchased in Past 12 Months – Primary (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Ever Bought Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 (+10%) (+7%) Shops selling clothing or footwear Supermarkets and newsagents Restaurants, take-aways or hotels Pharmacies, doctors, hospitals or other medicals Personal care e.g. hairdressers, cosmetics Pubs Communications services including home phone... Banking products and services including a current a/c Goods & Services Purchased: Benchmark 2007 96 98 83 83 81 80 76 75

Goods & Services Purchased in Past 12 Months – Secondary (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Ever Bought Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 (+10%) Entertainment at home e.g. DVDs, CDs, games Petrol stations Entertainment outside the home e.g. cinema... Energy suppliers e.g. ESB, Bord Gais Insurance products and services Public transport – buses and trains Shops selling furniture or household appliances Goods & Services Purchased: Benchmark 2007 71 73 64 72 - 59 56

Goods & Services Purchased in Past 12 Months - Tertiary (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Ever Bought Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 (+6%) Local authority bin services Airlines TV Service Providers e.g. Sky, ntl Education providers e.g. schools and colleges Building and related services e.g. plumbers Travel agents Car dealers Goods & Services Purchased: Benchmark 2007 61 - 64 53 41 51 -

Shopping Around (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) I always compare/shop around for better prices I sometimes compare/shop around for better prices % 75% % I very rarely compare/shop around for better prices I never compare/shop around for better prices 75% # All others 1% or less % * New Question Supermarkets & Newsagents Shops selling clothing or footwear Insurance products & services Shops selling furniture or household appliances Airlines Car dealers Petrol stations Building and related service Restaurants or hotels Communications services Comparison of prices Where most likely to shop around/compare prices*

Awareness of Dental and GP Prices (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) No Yes Are you aware of the prices you will be asked to pay if you visit a ....... No Yes * New Question % % 81% women versus 69% men 61% women versus 49% men Dental Practice GP’s Surgery

Reasonable Charges? (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Very Reasonable (5) Reasonable (4) Neither/Nor (3) Unreasonable (2) Very unreasonable (1) Don't know 53% * New Question

Key Influencing Factors in Determining Where to Shop % Price (Base: All Aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Convenience Shopped there previously Service Other Don’t know Strongest Influencing Factor

Biggest Influencing Factors Across Sectors – I Price Convenience Service Having shopped there previously % % % % (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) # New question – Supermarkets and newsagents* Shops selling clothing or footwear Insurance products & services Car dealers Airlines Petrol stations Shops selling furniture/ household appliances Building & related services Restaurants or hotels Communications services Travel agents Pubs

Biggest Influencing Factors Across Sectors – II Price Convenience Service Having shopped there previously % % % % (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) – # New question – – – – – – – – – Entertainment at home Personal care Banking products & services Pharmacies Energy suppliers Entertainment outside the home TV service providers Public transport Local authority bin services Education providers

Price Comparison Sites (Base: All who use the internet – 651) % Yes, all the time Yes, sometimes Very rarely No, never % # new question (Base: All who sometimes/always use price comparison sites – 210) Top 10 sectors most likely to use a product review/website to compare prices/quality# Frequency of using sites Airlines Insurance products & services Car dealers Communications services Shops selling furniture or household appliances Shops selling clothing or footwear Travel Agent Restaurants or hotels Supermarkets & Newsagents Banking products and services

Overall Satisfaction with Value for Money Received from Various Sectors – I (Base: All who had bought goods/services in the last 12 months) (1) (2) (3) (5) (6) * = New Question () = % who bought goods/services in the last 12 months % Satisfied % Dissatisfied 31 29 29 27 26 24 24 23 23 22 22 (7) Local authority bin service (59%) Energy suppliers (70%) Petrol stations (78%) Car Dealers (39%) Pharmacies, doctors, hospitals (89%) Banking products & Services (82%) Insurance products & Services (74%) Public transport (61%) TV service providers (61%) Shops selling furniture or household appliances (58%) Building and related services (49%) Neither/ Nor (4) 19 14 17 21 14 14 19 20 16 21 15

Overall Satisfaction with Value for Money Received from Various Sectors – II (Base: All who had bought goods/services in the last 12 months) (1) (2) (3) (5) (6) (7) % Satisfied % Dissatisfied * = New Question () = % who bought goods/services in the last 12 months 22 21 21 19 18 18 18 18 15 15 11 Restaurants or Hotels 93% Pubs (85%) Education providers (47%) Travel Agents (43%) Airlines (60%) Shops selling clothing or footwear (98%) Communications services including home phone, mobile broadband (85%) Entertainment outside the home (75%) Supermarkets & Newsagents (98%) Personal Care (89%) Entertainment at home (77%) Neither/ Nor (4) 12 16 18 22 17 9 21 14 12 12 14

Satisfaction with Customer Service Across Sectors – I (Base: All who had bought goods/services in the last 12 months) (1) (2) (3) (5) (6) (7) * = New Question () = % who bought goods/services in the last 12 months % Satisfied % Dissatisfied – – – – – Supermarkets & Newsagents (98%) Shops selling clothing or footwear (98%) Restaurants or Hotels (93%) Personal Care (89%) Pharmacies, doctors, hospitals (89%) Communications services including home phone, mobile broadband (85%) Banking products & Services (82%) Entertainment at home (77%) Petrol stations (78%) Entertainment outside the home (75%) Insurance products & Services (74%) Don’t Know/ Neither/ Nor (4) 24 27 27 26 28 29 31 29 30 29 31

Satisfaction with Customer Service Across Sectors – II (Base: All who had bought goods/services in the last 12 months) (1) (2) (3) (5) (6) (7) % Satisfied % Dissatisfied * = New Question () = % who bought goods/services in the last 12 months – – – Pubs (85%) Energy suppliers (70%) Public transport (61%) TV service providers (61%) Airlines (60%) Local authority bin service (59%) Shops selling furniture or household appliances (58%) Building and related services (49%) Education providers (47%) Travel Agents (43%) Car Dealers (39%) Don’t Know/ Neither/ Nor (4) 29 27 28 28 29 31 29 30 29 31 32