Consumers Cut Costs: UK & US Update, October 2022

Published 17 October 2022

With the macroeconomic environment evolving rapidly, we distil recent research illuminating how consumers in the UK and the US feel about the economy, and the non-essential categories that continue to capture wallet share.

  • UK: Research from YouGov shows that consumer confidence in the UK turned negative in September for the first time since June 2020. But while 65% of Brits say they’re putting off large expenditures like home renovations or having a wedding (Toluna, 2022), they’re not living a pleasure-free life.

    According to a survey by US market insights company Toluna, phone contracts remain essential for 34% of UK consumers. Meanwhile, 29% will continue to spend money on TV subscriptions, and 22% on alcohol for home consumption. The latter underlines the fact that many Brits are starting to pull back from eating out (35%) and going to bars and pubs (23%).

  • US: A majority (55%) of Americans are “very” or “somewhat” pessimistic about the state of the economy, with monthly household expenses increasing an average of 13% (National Research Group, 2022).

    Amidst rising costs, entertainment and lifestyle subscriptions continue to capture a large portion of monthly spending, according to a survey this month by US market insights firm National Research Group. Thirty-one percent of Americans are cutting back on general subscription services (Amazon Prime, fitness memberships). But only 18% plan to spend less on film or tv streaming subscriptions, and even fewer (10%) anticipate trimming spending for music streaming. This could lead to a resurgence of early-pandemic home-focused entertainment, especially as 61% of Americans devote less money to going to the cinema and live events.
  • UK: Research from YouGov shows that consumer confidence in the UK turned negative in September for the first time since June 2020. But while 65% of Brits say they’re putting off large expenditures like home renovations or having a wedding (Toluna, 2022), they’re not living a pleasure-free life.

    According to a survey by US market insights company Toluna, phone contracts remain essential for 34% of UK consumers. Meanwhile, 29% will continue to spend money on TV subscriptions, and 22% on alcohol for home consumption. The latter underlines the fact that many Brits are starting to pull back from eating out (35%) and going to bars and pubs (23%).

  • US: A majority (55%) of Americans are “very” or “somewhat” pessimistic about the state of the economy, with monthly household expenses increasing an average of 13% (National Research Group, 2022).

    Amidst rising costs, entertainment and lifestyle subscriptions continue to capture a large portion of monthly spending, according to a survey this month by US market insights firm National Research Group. Thirty-one percent of Americans are cutting back on general subscription services (Amazon Prime, fitness memberships). But only 18% plan to spend less on film or tv streaming subscriptions, and even fewer (10%) anticipate trimming spending for music streaming. This could lead to a resurgence of early-pandemic home-focused entertainment, especially as 61% of Americans devote less money to going to the cinema and live events.

Want to know more?

This article is an example of the trends Stylus is constantly tracking and analysing around the evolving consumer attitudes. Get in touch so someone from the Stylus team can explain how your business can harness the power of trends and insights like these – and more.

Want to know more?

This article is an example of the trends Stylus is constantly tracking and analysing around the evolving consumer attitudes. Get in touch so someone from the Stylus team can explain how your business can harness the power of trends and insights like these – and more.