Shoppers are facing “impossible choices” as the cost of living crisis is forcing households with children to start saving now in order to afford Christmas.
Nearly half of shoppers with children at home claimed they were already aiming to save money day-to-day so they can spend as much as they normally would this Christmas, the latest research from IGD has shown.
The findings showed that initial market predictions pointing to people splurging during festive seasons post-pandemic quickly changed as Brits were hit with record-high energy and food prices.
“Throughout the pandemic period we predicted that once Covid-19 restrictions lifted, shoppers would be keen to celebrate special occasions to make up for time they lost during lockdowns,” said head of shopper insight at IGD, Rhian Thomas.
“However, in 2022 this may be affected again as the rising cost of living affects how much shoppers have to spend on these occasions, particularly the least affluent and shoppers with young children at home.”
Around 54% of households with children aged 0 to 4 said they were either already saving or thinking about ways to save money to be able to afford Christmas this year. In contrast, only 16% of shoppers without children gave the same response.
“These groups will still want to make the most of special occasions, however, so providing options that enable them to do this with stretched budgets should be a key consideration for businesses this year,” Thomas added.
As The Grocer reported this week, food banks have warned of an accelerating food poverty crisis as they have faced a surge in demand following the cut to Universal Credit, as well as the impact of soaring food and energy prices.
And last week, food redistribution charities also confirmed they were struggling to meet the demand for surplus food from local communities as the growing cost of living crisis has pushed demand to levels higher than those recorded during the pandemic.
It comes as consumer specialist Which? also published its own research showing that most consumers have had to make an adjustment to their lifestyle – with the most common one being cutting back on key things such as groceries, medicines and school supplies – to cover essential spending in the last month.
“We have reached the situation that our income from work and or benefits can no longer hold pace with the rising cost of living”, said Dr Sinéad Furey, senior lecturer and food poverty researcher at Ulster University.
“And with retailers on record saying that the worst is yet to come, yet consumers, customers, and citizens have little or no resilience or wriggle room to absorb further rises in prices and bills.
“Impossible choices between dinner tonight, adequately heating your home, or maintaining a sense of occasion and magic for children at Christmas or other similar seasonal celebrations represent no choice at all.”
She added that “we need urgent action to support families in meeting the chasm between the rising gap in the cost of living and family incomes”.
On Tuesday, cabinet ministers struggled to agree on whether Britain should unilaterally cut tariffs on food imports to help people navigate mounting food prices, among other suggestions for easing the cost of living crisis.
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