Just over 52 per cent of grocery shoppers in Ireland say they will shop around more in the next 12 months. This was the surprise finding of a survey on consumer attitudes by Millward Brown for Retail Ireland, a division of employers group Ibec, given that austerity is still very much to the fore here.

The balance of shoppers indicated there would be either no change to their shopping habits or that they would shop around less. Some 72 per cent of respondents said price was the most important issue when making a purchase while 70 per cent cited value for money.

The poll also found that 46 per cent of consumers are unlikely to make a big ticket spend in the next 12 months while one in five is planning to increase their online shopping in the next year.

Commenting on the results, Retail Ireland director Stephen Lynam said: "This research shows that shoppers are optimistic, but remain cautious. While the economy may be improving, shopping habits that altered following the economic crash show no sign of changing back."