Over a third of consumers have no money left at the end of the month
Data from auditing and consulting service RSM has revealed that 37% of consumers have no money to spend at the end of the month.
Customers’ budgets are taking a direct hit this Christmastime, with average spending down 16% from £554 last year to £463.
The survey revealed that half of the 1,000 people surveyed would spend less on socialising this festive period.
Within the last three months, 45% of those surveyed said they had cut back on energy usage, 41% said they had eaten out less, and 34% had reduced the amount of takeaways they ordered.
83% said they were ‘very’ or ‘quite concerned’ about the cost-of-living crisis.
49% expected to spend less on clothing during the festive period, while toys, presents and stocking fillers will also take a hit with consumers planning to reduce their spending on them by 43%, 42% and 40% respectively.
Paul Newman, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK, said: “The festive trading period is when most hospitality businesses make the majority of their profits for the whole calendar year. With last year’s festivities severely impacted by Omicron, 2022 needs to deliver if the sector is to avoid a grim start to 2023 with a swathe of closures and job losses.
“The cost-of-living pressures are palpable with consumers now seeing the direct impact on their finances at the end of each month. Stark choices are having to be made over Christmas celebrations”.
Jacqui Baker, head of retail at RSM UK, added: “Consumers’ finances are taking a hit and they have little choice but to tighten their belts. Our survey showed that nearly every category across retail would be impacted by dwindling discretionary spend this Christmas which is bad news following mixed results during Black Friday.”
“Consumer footfall has been falling in recent weeks and the rail strikes are only adding to dampening consumer demand. On top of this, the mail strikes are seriously impacting on delivery times and turning consumers away, creating more headaches for retailers”, she continued.