KPMG surveyed 3,000 UK consumers of varying household incomes and found essential household costs (food, energy, fuel, mortgage or rent) have risen by an average of £145.50 per month compared to the beginning of the year.
The survey revealed the highest average monthly cost increase was among consumers aged 35–44, who reported paying £194.40 more a month than in January.
To manage those rising costs, one-third of consumers are now buying more own brand/value products, and a third are buying more products on promotion/discount.
The results also showed that around 25 per cent of consumers are shopping at less expensive retailers and 25 per cent are buying fewer items.
Further, 20 per cent are swapping eating out for premium home cook meals, and 10 per cent of consumers are spending on credit.
Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer markets, retail and leisure, said some households are already paying more than this average, and all households still have October’s energy price rise to manage.
Those who have been buying less this year have most commonly been cutting back on eating out (59 per cent), clothing (54 per cent), and takeaways (51 per cent) — the three most common areas of spending reduction from polling in April and December 2021.
On average, consumers who had savings at the start of 2022 have 43 per cent remaining. Half of those polled are not currently using their savings to help meet their essential costs, but a third of consumers are having to. An additional one in 10 have now spent all their savings on offsetting rising essential costs.
“It’s clear that consumers are responding where they can — altering how much they buy, what they buy and where they buy it. Retailers are also responding and will need to continue to be data-driven to anticipate and adapt to changes in demand,” Ms Ellett said.
Value for money has been the most common consideration when purchasing throughout 2022, followed by quality, and then sustainability.
Environmental sustainability remains as much of a purchasing consideration as it was in 2021 for the majority of consumers. But despite the cost-of-living squeeze, a fifth of consumers are considering sustainability more this year when buying goods. Only 14 per cent said it was less of a consideration.
Overall, a greater amount of the 3,000 consumers said that they were feeling more secure (37 per cent) than less secure (22 per cent) in their financial circumstances than they were at the beginning of the year.
