"Kiwis are definitely keen on a bargain, and we see evidence of that right across the retail sector. They are always looking for a good deal and both retailers and suppliers see massive interest from customers when items go on sale," Harford said.
"The better the specials, the bigger the interest from consumers - and we see that every year with massive queues for Boxing Day sales."
Harford said consumers even looked for promotions at retailers which operated "everyday low-price" models, like Kmart and The Warehouse.
Pressure on household budgets, higher insurances costs, rates, rents and fuel taxes were the reason promotions were attractive, he said.
Colleen Ryan, head of strategy at digital insights company TRA, said Kiwis' shopping habits were driven by promotions.
"People are used to having things on promotion. And there's almost this [perception] that it would be foolish not to buy on promotion," Ryan said.
"Kiwis are rating price as highly as they are rating food safety and nutritional value.
"In a market where we've typically had high interest rates, certainly compared to other countries ... interest-free promotions are seen as quite valuable. People talk about it as being a way of saving."
New Zealand being a small market and having fewer retailers and discount options meant shopping for savings was crucial for many, Ryan said.
"Some of our biggest retailers; 'everyone gets a bargain' - we've had that line drummed into us for many years, and everybody will tell you Briscoe's will have a sale on Thursday, these are kind of routine things that we have come to expect."
Source: Nielsen Scantrack and Nielsen Homescan
She said retailers who had moved to an 'everyday low-price' model would have a hard time trying to retrain the Kiwi mindset.
"It was a very brave move on behalf of The Warehouse to say they are not going to do sales anymore and that they are going to give everyday low prices.
"Kiwis have come to expect that things will be on promotion and on sale and we just wait a week and they will be on sale if they are not already now," she said.
"We tend to assess the value of something relative, we look at its price against [specifications], so retailers are going to have to be smart about that if they are going to change our mindset about being permanently on sale."
Nielsen sales and marketing lead, Brett Miller, said Kiwi shoppers were conditioned to buy products on promotion, a reflection of retailer sales strategies.
"With this heavy reliance on promotions, shoppers adapt with behaviours like pantry-stocking, brand, product switching in store, or store switching based on specials," Miller said.
"Promotions tend to impact what brands shoppers choose whilst in store, more than they impact the actual store chosen. Getting good value for money on food and groceries is always a top driver of store choice, but there are many ways to achieve this beyond price and promo strategies."
